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Compiled by the Government Communication and Information System --------------------------------------------------------------- Date: 20 Nov 2006 Title: Media Monitoring Project observes 16 Days coverage --------------------------------------------------------------- By Lavinia Mahlangu The Media Monitoring Project (MMP) will observe media coverage of gender-based violence and child abuse for a fifth year during the "16 Days of Activism for No Violence against Women and Children" campaign. "We will be looking out for reporting that is respectful of human rights and that which protects the people concerned from further abuse. "There are definitely ways of presenting quality reporting on gender violence and child abuse, without further violating human rights," says William Bird, Director of the MMP. This year's theme for the international campaign is "Celebrate 16 Years of 16 Days: Advance Human Rights, End Violence Against Women." Last year the MMP's research picked up a disturbing trend among some media organisations, of naming or identifying children who had been abused or had witnessed crimes. While the overall intention of those stories had been clearly positive in raising issues of abuse, said the MMP, they had in fact further violated the rights of the children concerned. It was found that one in ten children was identified in the media in stories about child abuse. The organisation said this pointed to the fact that a number of media seemingly chose profit over people's rights to dignity and privacy. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which South Africa has ratified, protects children's identities and privacy. The Children's Bill, passed by the National Assembly in June 2005, specifically protects the identification of children involved in criminal proceedings by the media. A number of examples were cited from a certain daily tabloid which the MMP said "violates these ethical and legal principles." Mr Bird condemned this conduct in the strongest possible terms, adding that the tabloid regularly disreagarded and disrespected these basic tenets of dignity and journalistic ethics. The MMP's research is not being sponsored this year, leading to the organisation reducing the media outlets it observes from 50 in 2005, down to 20 this year. Mr Bird said the range of media outlets being monitored would, however, remain varied encompassing print and electronic media. Another concern raised by the 2005 research was that in many instances, people were spoken about as "objects" and their views were seldom heard. The MMP's research highlighted that most sources in gender-based violence and woman and child abuse stories tend to be men and medical or legal officials, rather than the people or groups directly affected by the abuse. The organisation reccomended that in circumstances where possible, the person may be asked how she or he would like to be referred to within the story: as a victim or survivor. The 16 Days campaign formally kicks off on 25 November until 10 December, Human Rights Day, although various events linked to the campaign have been underway since the beginning of November. Mr Bird said the results of the MMP's research would be available towards the end of the actual 16 Days campaign. - BuaNews |
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