diff --git a/exist-core/src/main/java/org/exist/util/serializer/XMLWriter.java b/exist-core/src/main/java/org/exist/util/serializer/XMLWriter.java
index 9859b113f94..0ce8fa08c22 100644
--- a/exist-core/src/main/java/org/exist/util/serializer/XMLWriter.java
+++ b/exist-core/src/main/java/org/exist/util/serializer/XMLWriter.java
@@ -376,7 +376,7 @@ public void characters(final CharSequence chars) throws TransformerException {
             if(tagIsOpen) {
                 closeStartTag(false);
             }
-            writer.append(chars);
+            writeChars(chars, false);
         } catch(final IOException ioe) {
             throw new TransformerException(ioe.getMessage(), ioe);
         }