Adjudication No. 439 (May 1990) [1990] APC 11

ADJUDICATION No. 439 (May 1990)

The Press Council has dismissed a complaint about a story in the Daily Mirror of 5 January 1990 about a boy with haemophilia who died of AIDS. The complainant, Peter Pickett, says that the description of the boy as an "innocent victim" discriminates against those who contract the disease through sexual practices, especially those who did so when medical science knew little about the disease.

The complainant says that the use of the phrase "innocent victim" implies that there are guilty victims. The newspaper denies this meaning of the word and the Press Council agrees.

The newspaper points out that the mother had used similar words in saying:- "He wanted people to know the tragedy of innocent youngsters like himself who were dying of AIDS through no fault of their own."

To the Council, the use of the word "innocent" in this context means that the boy with haemophilia, in constant need of blood transfusions, had absolutely no choice or knowledge and had engaged in no voluntary activities and, in this sense, like others suffering from haemophilia, was a member of a uniquely innocent group.