Reporting Gender Based Violence

This month, Gender Links will conduct training workshops on covering gender based violence for media in the Southern African Development Community (SADC). These capacity building workshops are part of on-going media support and capacity building initiatives under the centres of Excellence for gender in the media project. Media will partner with local councils to give publicity to various council activities during the upcoming 16 Days of No Violence Against Women and Children campaign which runs from the 25th of November to the 10th of December.

These activities are in line with the requirements of the SADC Protocol on Gender and development which has set a time bound target of halving the current levels of gender based violence by 2015.

The media is a powerful tool in fighting GBV because it not only reports on society but helps shape public opinion and perceptions. The media calls attention to social issues and problems and it can hold leaders accountable. As such GL will be conducting three day training workshops in Botswana, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The main aim of these workshops is to broaden the media’s understanding of gender based violence, the different forms it takes as well as to highlight gaps in prevalence data, prevention, responses, support and treatment.

20 journalists will be trained in each of the countries. The training will also result in in-depth gender based violence stories, ‘I’ stories as well as contributions to the GL Directory of sources project. Gender links will consolidate the sources into the e-book and circulate to its journalist across the region. These I stories will be collected and they will give a much needed human face to the current coverage on GBV. Councillors and journalists will plan how to partner during the campaign. GBV trained journalist will be encouraged to cover the events during the 16 days campaigns.