For Little Keira: Journalism Should Not Silence Victims!
For Little Keira: Journalism Should Not Silence Victims!
The Issue
Journalism is a super power that can be used for good or evil. It is important that journalism is honest, has the greater public interest at heart, and serves a purpose beyond gaining readers for financial gain.
We are asking for this harmful and inaccurate Toronto Life Magazine article to be removed immediately and retracted with an apology provided.
This article has managed to do immense damage to the work of domestic violence advocates everywhere, create greater fear in those going through the judicial system, and use untruths to depict a false portrayal of Keira’s mother, Dr. Jennifer Kagan. When a mother who was trying to protect her child is portrayed as a villain, it perpetuates power imbalance and normalizes abuse.
This article portrays Jennifer as a vile, litigious woman who is trying to prevent her daughter from seeing her father. It was quite the opposite however. She was a victim of abuse, terrorized by Robin Brown for many years. She had to flee when her daughter was only 9 months old, to ensure their safety. There were grave concerns for Keira’s physical and psychological safety. Jennifer tried to warn the courts for years about the danger he posed and yet nothing was done on a judicial level. Outrageous actions on his part, such as killing bunnies and forcing her to watch, shoving a mouse in her mouth, and lying about his professional education and credentials were stated but minimized in the article. These are HUGE red flags that were glossed over in the article, further giving power and strength to the perpetrator.
The information in the article has many inaccuracies through fabrications and omitted information. The simplest example is where it was written that “He bundled his daughter and drove…”, where in reality, it was unknown how Robin Brown dressed his 4-year-old daughter to take her to the cliff at Rattlesnake Point, in the middle of a snowy winter afternoon. Many people were interviewed, including Keira’s mother, yet their information was rarely used. Many important events within the described story were omitted, which would have brought out the truth. For example, the author does not reference any affidavits from September onward (including when a judge ordered supervised access for her dad) when his behaviour was escalating, as well as his multiple violations of court orders (where he was warned he would have his access suspended), showing the greater threat of danger. Another example is when she quotes Keira’s psychologist, saying “she misses both parents”, but pages and pages of very vital information from her chart was not included in the article that showed emotional harm that Keira was suffering from her father. By cherry picking, the author of the article has created a false narrative and this is extremely dangerous. This is not real journalism. This is fiction, based on a true story. The author misrepresented the direction of the story throughout her discussions with Keira's mother, and after the publication, will not reply to concerns brought forward.
This type of journalism is negligent, irresponsible and remiss. It misleads the public, which glorifies the psychopathic abuser and silences the victim. It is portrayed in the article as the stereotype of two divorced people not getting along, where in fact, there is more to the story. This not only normalizes the abuse in the story, but points the blame on the victim, Jennifer while re-traumatizing her. Rather than help teach our population about the dangers of child abuse, risk factors of domestic homicide, and the telltale signs of narcissism, it harms any advocacy for children and other vulnerable people. It is our social responsibility to protect the children. Articles like this have such a negative impact for public health and wellness, as well as child welfare. Please help us put a stop to this, so we can restore faith in our judicial system and for others in similar situations, before another senseless child death happens.
Click here for more information: https://forlittlekeira.com/media
Update: Two additional articles were written to explain the complexities:
4,449
The Issue
Journalism is a super power that can be used for good or evil. It is important that journalism is honest, has the greater public interest at heart, and serves a purpose beyond gaining readers for financial gain.
We are asking for this harmful and inaccurate Toronto Life Magazine article to be removed immediately and retracted with an apology provided.
This article has managed to do immense damage to the work of domestic violence advocates everywhere, create greater fear in those going through the judicial system, and use untruths to depict a false portrayal of Keira’s mother, Dr. Jennifer Kagan. When a mother who was trying to protect her child is portrayed as a villain, it perpetuates power imbalance and normalizes abuse.
This article portrays Jennifer as a vile, litigious woman who is trying to prevent her daughter from seeing her father. It was quite the opposite however. She was a victim of abuse, terrorized by Robin Brown for many years. She had to flee when her daughter was only 9 months old, to ensure their safety. There were grave concerns for Keira’s physical and psychological safety. Jennifer tried to warn the courts for years about the danger he posed and yet nothing was done on a judicial level. Outrageous actions on his part, such as killing bunnies and forcing her to watch, shoving a mouse in her mouth, and lying about his professional education and credentials were stated but minimized in the article. These are HUGE red flags that were glossed over in the article, further giving power and strength to the perpetrator.
The information in the article has many inaccuracies through fabrications and omitted information. The simplest example is where it was written that “He bundled his daughter and drove…”, where in reality, it was unknown how Robin Brown dressed his 4-year-old daughter to take her to the cliff at Rattlesnake Point, in the middle of a snowy winter afternoon. Many people were interviewed, including Keira’s mother, yet their information was rarely used. Many important events within the described story were omitted, which would have brought out the truth. For example, the author does not reference any affidavits from September onward (including when a judge ordered supervised access for her dad) when his behaviour was escalating, as well as his multiple violations of court orders (where he was warned he would have his access suspended), showing the greater threat of danger. Another example is when she quotes Keira’s psychologist, saying “she misses both parents”, but pages and pages of very vital information from her chart was not included in the article that showed emotional harm that Keira was suffering from her father. By cherry picking, the author of the article has created a false narrative and this is extremely dangerous. This is not real journalism. This is fiction, based on a true story. The author misrepresented the direction of the story throughout her discussions with Keira's mother, and after the publication, will not reply to concerns brought forward.
This type of journalism is negligent, irresponsible and remiss. It misleads the public, which glorifies the psychopathic abuser and silences the victim. It is portrayed in the article as the stereotype of two divorced people not getting along, where in fact, there is more to the story. This not only normalizes the abuse in the story, but points the blame on the victim, Jennifer while re-traumatizing her. Rather than help teach our population about the dangers of child abuse, risk factors of domestic homicide, and the telltale signs of narcissism, it harms any advocacy for children and other vulnerable people. It is our social responsibility to protect the children. Articles like this have such a negative impact for public health and wellness, as well as child welfare. Please help us put a stop to this, so we can restore faith in our judicial system and for others in similar situations, before another senseless child death happens.
Click here for more information: https://forlittlekeira.com/media
Update: Two additional articles were written to explain the complexities:
4,449
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Petition created on October 24, 2020