At Sachspur, we treat stories involving minors with exceptional care. Our safeguarding policy ensures that every reference to a child or young person under 18 is editorially justified, legally compliant, and ethically sound. This page explains who oversees this work, how our newsroom handles minors in reporting, what additional review applies, and how readers can raise concerns. It supplements our Editorial Policy and our Fact‑Checking Policy.
Who is responsible for safeguarding minors at Sachspur?
Vanessa Frank, our Ansvarig för faktagranskning (Standards Lead), is the named editor accountable for all content involving minors at Sachspur, which is owned and operated by Sachspur Media Ltd., a private company registered in Gibraltar (number C 92009, Malta Business Registry). She reviews every story that names, depicts, or quotes a child.
Ms Frank works alongside Chefredaktör Benjamin Krämer and the broader editorial team to ensure that safeguarding considerations are embedded from the pitching stage through to publication. Any editor or reporter may flag a minor-related concern directly to her before a piece goes live. Her contact details are listed on our Our Team page.
How does our editorial team handle stories involving children?
We only include a minor’s name, image, or personal information when the story serves a clear public-interest purpose—such as reporting on policy affecting young people, covering a school event with consent, or investigating systemic issues like child welfare. Sensational or gratuitous references are never permitted.
Our newsroom follows a four‑step protocol: (1) assess the necessity of including the minor; (2) obtain informed consent from a parent or guardian unless doing so would compromise a safeguarding investigation; (3) minimise identifiable details wherever possible; and (4) flag the piece for Ms Frank’s review. Reporters and editors receive regular training on Swedish child‑protection law, data‑protection obligations, and the ethical guidelines of the Swedish Press Council.
What additional review do stories about minors undergo?
Every article that involves a minor is automatically assigned to Ms Frank for a dedicated safeguarding check before the editor approves it for publication. This second review examines whether the piece complies with our Editorial Policy, Swedish law, and our own stricter internal standards.
Ms Frank may request that a minor be anonymised, that identifying metadata (such as school or neighbourhood) be removed, or that a piece be held until further sourcing is completed. She also coordinates with our fact‑checking team to verify ages, relationships, and any official records cited. This process is documented in our internal workflow and logged for transparency.
How do we ensure privacy, consent and legal compliance?
We require verifiable parental or guardian consent before publishing any personal data of a minor unless an exception is justified by a compelling public interest—such as exposing harm or protecting other children. All consent records are retained securely by the newsroom.
Our legal framework draws from the Swedish Parental Code, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. We also adhere to the principles of the Swedish Ethical Rules for the Press, Radio and Television. Where a minor is a victim, a witness, or otherwise vulnerable, we default to anonymity and avoid any wording that could lead to identification. Our Copyright & Takedown Policy provides a process for requesting removal of content that may violate these standards.
What should readers do if they have concerns about content involving a minor?
Readers who believe that Sachspur has published material that fails to protect a minor’s welfare, privacy, or dignity should contact our complaints team at complaints@sachspur.de. All complaints are acknowledged within 48 hours and processed according to our Complaints Procedure.
We treat such reports with urgency. Ms Frank reviews each complaint personally and, if necessary, consults external experts. Remedial actions may include adding an editor’s note, anonymising existing content, removing the piece entirely, or publishing a correction. We also encourage sources and subjects to get in touch directly via corrections@sachspur.de if they believe a story misrepresents a minor’s situation.
Our commitments
- We will always seek to minimise harm to minors in our reporting, prioritising their welfare over speed or exclusivity.
- We require explicit parental or guardian consent before publishing identifiable information about any child under 18, except where a clear public interest overrides this rule.
- Every story involving a minor is reviewed by our Standards Lead, Vanessa Frank, before it can be published.
- We train all editorial staff on Swedish child‑protection law, GDPR, and ethical reporting practices at least once per calendar year.
- We respond to all safeguarding complaints within 48 hours and provide a transparent route for escalation and remedy.