The Network for Addiction Care (UNAD) has presented a ten-point plan aimed at information professionals in order to combat "the stigma of people with addictions" in the press and other media, offering a series of guidelines for journalists "with the aim of promoting more rigorous information".
The entity, which has the support of the Association of the Press of Madrid (APM) for this initiative, responsible for supporting its dissemination, maintains that the informative treatment of this type of content must be "respectful and free of stigma about addictions" to favor "the protection of the rights and dignity of people living with this problem".
UNAD has detailed that the ten-point plan, prepared by its Communication Commission, has been designed "after a process of analyzing media coverage of addictions in state, regional, and local media". This work "has made it possible to identify common patterns and areas for improvement in the informative treatment of addictions, examining aspects such as the language used, the focus of the news, the sources consulted, the use of images, and the balance of the published stories".
In this study, "among the elements analyzed, special attention has been paid to the use of stigmatizing terminology, the tendency to associate addictions with crime or violence, the predominance of police approaches over socio-health perspectives, as well as the presence of expert voices in the information", the organization has pointed out, which also indicates that "the visual treatment of the news, the existence of narratives focused exclusively on negative consequences, and the scarce visibility of attention, recovery, and harm reduction processes have been evaluated".
Recommendations of the ten-point plan
Based on this diagnosis, UNAD advises "the use of respectful language focused on people, avoiding stigmatizing terms such as 'junkie' or drug addict, among others; the need to avoid sensationalist or criminalizing approaches; and the importance of addressing addictions from a public health perspective".
In the same way, the network of entities raises the convenience "of delving into the social, economic, and structural causes of addictions, of incorporating specialized sources and data based on scientific evidence, and of reflecting the diversity of affected people, avoiding stereotypes associated with gender, origin, or social class". Likewise, it urges to "show the complexity of recovery processes, including relapses, prevention, and harm reduction".
Finally, after emphasizing "the need for responsible use of images in the media", UNAD underlines "the fundamental role of the media in constructing social perception about addictions, as well as its capacity to contribute to reducing stigma and promoting a more inclusive society for these people".