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Parents, Kenya
April 1999
<strong>Report</strong>ing on Gender-based Violence
With their formidable capacity to
spread the word, the mass media
can be a powerful force to bring about
change on gender-based violence. The
media can sensitize the community to
the problem, change attitudes within the
family, report abuses to prevent recurrence,
and publicize strategies for
addressing the problem.
The media can help bring domestic
violence out of the closet.
What we know for a fact is that violence
against women thrives in cultures
where the subjugation of women and
domination by men are accepted as “natural”
and inevitable. The media, in a way,
must take responsibility for creating and
reinforcing values and attitudes that
uphold this culture. Many writers are
themselves shaped by this dominant culture
and bring their attitudes towards
women, including their biases, to their
work.
Many media practitioners ignore the
fact that violent crimes against women,
such as rape, are seldom about sex but
are almost always about dominance and
violence, which explains why the majority
of such crimes are committed by men
known to women. The media must
always try not to carry inaccurate reports
about violence against women, try not to
degrade the victims, or sensationalize the
issues, or exploit the situation to capture
a good headline. ■
34 Conveying Concerns: Women <strong>Report</strong> on Gender-based Violence