29 April marked a special date in the BIHR calendar: the latest instalment of Beneath the Headlines, a series of events aimed at discussing how human rights are (mis)represented in the media. The panel was chaired by Sir Nicolas Bratza, former President of the European Court of Human Rights and now Chair of BIHR, with contributions from a number of experts in the field: Caoilfhionn Gallagher, a barrister from Doughty Street Chambers; Sean Humber, head of human rights at law firm Leigh Day; Shoaib M Khan, lawyer and social media commentator, and BIHR’s own deputy director Sanchita Hosali.

The panel fielded questions on topics ranging from challenging violence against women in the UK, welfare reform, the rights of prisoners and the threat to justice caused by cuts to legal aid. We also heard about the great work of other organisations in raising the profile of human rights in the UK. See our hashtag for the night #BIHRevents for everyone who got involved.





















There was a great discussion between the panel and the audience on how we can challenge poor reporting and common myths on human rights. We also took to the digital airwaves with our live twitter feed, tweet wall at the event and had almost 600 people watching the event online.

 

#BIHRevents Human Rights Beneath the Headines important & informative debate - myths, what to challenge how to challenge

— NSUN mental health (@NSUNnews) April 29, 2015

@ShoaibMKhan: There are many myths about human rights in the media which must be countered and it's our job to do it. #BIHRevents

— DHK (@dhk1990) April 29, 2015

#BIHRevents Thanks to the organisers for putting out a video feed. It's really hellpful for people who can't get to the event in person :)

— Mental Health (@Sectioned_) April 29, 2015

To round off the evening, Shoaib M Khan gave a very informative (and witty) presentation on how he has used the press complaints procedure to challenge inaccuracies in human rights reporting. An audience favourite was a correction that was longer than the original article!

 

Our discussions after the event revealed that many felt inspired speak up for human rights and to challenge myths and inaccuracies in whatever form they find them.

 

Thanks to our panel, members of the audience, those who contributed on twitter and everyone who watched the event on our live stream. Look out for a podcast version of the event on our website soon.