Media Policies

Oasis Trauma Informed Media Policies

At Oasis we recognise that many of the young people we work with have experienced significant trauma. Trauma affects the way people see themselves, relate to others, and manage difficult circumstances. We know that trauma can impact brain development and in turn affect how trauma survivors think, feel and behave.

At Oasis, we operate under a therapeutic model of Trauma Informed Care (TIC). The successful practice of TIC is built on the foundation of five key principles:

  • Safety
  • Trustworthiness
  • Choice
  • Collaboration
  • Empowerment

The key therapeutic goal of Trauma Informed Care is to restore choice, control and predictability to the lives of our young people by providing safe and nurturing relationships which can promote young people’s growth and healing. Trauma Informed Care underpins all aspects of Oasis’ day to day service delivery, including policy and procedures development, organisational decision-making, and communications.

Given Oasis’ overall therapeutic focus we have a responsibility to educate our partners (media, marketing and volunteers) about how we can best support the long term well-being and health outcomes of our young people. For this reason there are a number of limitations around media’s access to young people who use Oasis’ services.

The following guidelines have been created to ensure we respect the privacy of the young people who access our service, minimise their exposure in the public domain, and ensure that any involvement with the media does not negatively impact their mental health, the achievement of their therapeutic goals, or their life once they leave Oasis.

Guidelines

  • A young person must remain anonymous with respect to their association with Oasis in all materials distributed publicly – including, but not limited to social media, offline and online media channels
  • It is always preferable to use stock images already in the public domain to represent Oasis’ young people. If any photo, video or recording of a young person associated with Oasis is intended for public use it must protect the identity of that young person. Any distinguishing body/head marks such as tattoos, piercings, injuries or disabilities must be unrecognisable or excluded. Images that are blurred or at a distance, and are free of any of the above mentioned distinguishing features are acceptable.
  • All media interview enquiries must be directed to the Communication and Fundraising Manager at Oasis. We request that media do not speak directly to or solicit stories from a young person associated with Oasis without consultation and approval.
  • Specific details from a young person’s story could potentially be used to identify them; for this reason it is preferred that a combination of details from a variety of stories be used so as to protect the young person’s identity. It is most important that a young person’s name, age and the specific details of their situation are not used in the media as it may place the young person, other young people and Oasis staff at risk.
  • For safety and privacy reasons when on site at Oasis, media must be accompanied at all times by a designated Oasis representative. Out of respect for the young people’s current ‘home’ and their privacy, media will not be able to access the young people’s living areas.

These guidelines are in place to protect the young people who are in our care, and to protect the staff members who support them. Because many of the young people at Oasis come from backgrounds of extreme violence, being recognised through the media can place a young person, other young people and Oasis staff and volunteers at risk.

We acknowledge how important media relationships are to Oasis, our cause and the young people we support. The intention of this policy is not to inhibit the opportunities to work with us, but to help the supporters, media and/or government officials understand why these measures have been put in place and work collaboratively to find suitable solutions that operate within this scope.

If media and/or government officials are to appear on site at Oasis, this policy needs to be read in conjunction with the Visitor & Volunteer Policy.