Too Grim to Print: How Journalism Silences Coercive Control and How We Broke Through (Session 8)

Too Grim to Print: How Journalism Silences Coercive Control and How We Broke Through (Session 8)

Freelance investigative journalist Ena Miller (Channel 4 News, BBC) leads this session on how stories are routinely blocked inside newsrooms – rejected as “too grim” or “too complex.” From a British perspective, the session invites attendees to explore how we can help shift newsroom cultures and amplify survivor-led narratives.

In response to the Giselle Pelicot case, Ena spent months investigating UK government data on domestic spiking. The results revealed that the government did not know the true scale of the problem simply because it doesn’t record it.

To bring the Channel 4 News story “The Silence of Domestic Spiking” to air, Ena navigated a network of stakeholders across editorial, legal, production, and logistics. Two contributors to that broadcast will also take part in her panel:

Dr. Amy Burrell, the academic expert who helped Ena frame the collated data to make it easier for audiences to digest.

Maddie Waktare, the PR professional who sits between journalists and survivors, is always trying to balance survivor safety and visibility.

Joining the conversation is Natalie Queiroz MBE, a survivor of attempted domestic homicide and a leading advocate. Natalie offers an essential perspective on her clashes and victories with the media in getting her story heard.

Together, the panel will explore:

• How journalism itself silences coercive control
• Why repetition is crucial for cultural change, but feared by editors
• How to persuade newsrooms to invest in these stories despite commercial pressures
• How survivors, academics, PR, and journalists can collaborate more effectively to help get these stories over the line

This session challenges attendees to examine what becomes possible when a journalist builds the strategy, evidence, and trust needed to get coercive control stories over the broadcasting threshold.

Speakers