how to write about MMIW, a brief guide for journalists:
list: her full name, what city the event happened in and when (an actual date not just a year!), what the current standing of her case is
do not say she was a sex worker, abusing substances, “troubled,” and/or “living a high-risk lifestyle” unless there is documentation that supports that claim and it is relevant to her case
do not include a mug shot of the victim unless there are no other photos available (priority should go to humanizing photos the victim clearly posed for)
do not share any graphic photos, including photos of bodies, crime scenes, body parts, etc
the victim was a part of a nation, community, and family–be respectful and acknowledge that. say what her tribal affiliation was, whether she was a mother/sister/auntie/grandmother, what her career or aspirations were, etc
do not refer to her as “aboriginal woman” in the headline, she is not “aboriginal woman,” she is First Name Last Name from ______ First Nation
give the victim’s family a say in what information is shared, and how it is shared. prioritize their voices and quotes from indigenous activists/leaders above anyone else on this issue
don’t blame domestic violence-related homicides on substance abuse
if child services, law enforcement and/or the justice system mishandled her case, or other cases the perpetrator was involved in, the public needs to know
i have been doing background research to fill in the gaps in the database i’m maintaining, and it’s disturbing to see how many articles say things like “the victim was likely a prostitute,” make excuses for chronic abusers, use mug shots for victims when other photos are available, etc. this is BASIC SHIT. i have even come across multiple articles that share photos of dead bodies, one of which was an underage girl, which was extremely upsetting.
the lack of adequate reporting of information is also very frustrating. of the 642 cases that i’m done researching, 11% have no data publicly available at all (they are on publicly circulated lists as MMIW but when you search their individual name no specific info comes up), and 10% are missing basic information (i log their name, tribal affiliation, location event occurred in, date event occurred, age at time of event, whether they were murdered or are missing, any relevant keywords, and a source link). it’s lazy and irresponsible to report on this without doing that basic research, and if you have access to interview a family member, you have access to find out things like what nation the victim was from. and yet, the vast majority of cases in which i have been able to find specific tribal affiliation is when i can find their obituary online, which usually lists their hometown or lists funeral services in their home community.
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