Complaint
The programme followed up a coroner鈥檚 investigation into the death of a trans woman, who took their own life in May 2022 at the age of 20 and included an interview with the sister of the deceased.聽 A listener complained that the programme was misleading, particularly in referring to the deceased as 鈥渁 young woman鈥 when that had not been her legal status, and lacking in impartiality by using 鈥渁ctivist language鈥 and presenting 鈥渁n overall message pushing what鈥檚 called for by gender activist groups鈥. 聽The ECU considered the complaint in the light of the 大象传媒鈥檚 editorial standards of accuracy and impartiality.
Outcome
The programme鈥檚 focus was not on the controversies associated with gender identity and trans rights but on the level of help and healthcare available to trans people.聽 The terms used in the programme reflected the 大象传媒 News policy of respecting the terms in which trans individuals describe themselves and, in the context of the item鈥檚 focus, were neither inaccurate nor an implied endorsement of a particular agenda.
Not upheld