The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has launched a handbook for journalists on how to report violence against women and girls.
It was launched at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris with support from the Canadian Commission for UNESCO, the Permanent Delegation of Canada to UNESCO, and in collaboration with France Médias Monde.
Titled “Reporting on Violence against Women and Girls: a Handbook for Journalists” the launching was aimed at encouraging and stimulating reflection on media’s coverage of violence against women and girls; raise awareness among the audience on media’s potential impact in eliminating gender-based violence, and generate interest among media professionals and other stakeholders for reading and applying the handbook.
The event, which coincided with the 2019 International Day for the elimination of violence against women, showcased UNESCO’s progressive stance in recognizing the urgency and epidemic nature of violence against women and girls (VAWG) by promoting good practices in reporting on VAWG as well as the Organisation’s support to media in preventing and mitigating VAWG.
The handbook is an informative and practical resource for media professionals on how to report on gender-based violence. In addition to its accessible format, it is structured to facilitate its use in newsrooms.
The handbook also features specific information on selected topics relative to VAWG, and offers general recommendations for ethical journalistic practice in reporting on gender-based violence.
It gives media professionals some recommendations and examples of good practice. The handbook also intends to help journalists better tackle the challenges they face when reporting on those gender-specific matters.
The second chapter provides general recommendations on how to address, frame and cover stories on violence against women and girls. It provides practical advice on key steps in the reporting and editing process, such as assuring the sense of dignity, safety and trust with interviewees, informed consent, responsive listening, choice of location, cultural sensitivity, choice of interpreter, interviewing children, choice of images and so forth.