Adjudication No. 91 (March 1981) [1981] APC 3

ADJUDICATION No 91 (March 1981)

A senior lecturer in medicine has complained to the Australian Press Council of the publication in The Age of 19 November 1980 of a series of four photographs of an unnamed woman at various stages of drug addiction.

The photographs were published first in a police magazine "Police Life" with the consent of the woman concerned but with copyright reserved. The Age republished the photographs without copyright consent and The Age does not contend that the woman's consent was obtained.

The complaint is that the action of The Age was a serious invasion of the woman's privacy. The woman was plainly recognisable from the photographs and the complainant was clearly right in contending that the wider publicity given to the woman in The Age as compared with the restricted publicity of "Police Life" exposed her to a degree of notoriety which could not but add to her sadness and pain.

The Age has contended that the publication was intended to bring home to readers the human tragedy that results from drug addiction, but that laudable motive does not justify or excuse the invasion of privacy that was involved.

On the other hand, the fact that The Age published the photographs is understandable in the light of the woman's having consented to the prior publication in "Police Life".

The council is of opinion that The Age was guilty of an error of judgement.