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MISA-Zimbabwe statement on 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence
MISA-Zimbabwe
November 25, 2009

MISA-Zimbabwe joins the rest of the world in commemorating the 16 days of activism against gender violence from November 25- December 10 2009.

The 16 days of activism came about as a result of the United Nations World conference on Human Rights of 1993 which officially recognised violence against women as a violation of women's rights.

In commemorating the 16 days which this year runs under the theme: Commit. Act. Demand: We CAN End Violence against Women, MISA-Zimbabwe recognises the critical role that the media can play in ending gender violence in Zimbabwe.

The SADC Protocol on Gender and Development of 2007 sets the following key actions, measures and targets that state parties should take to discourage the media from:

• Promoting pornography and violence against all persons, especially women and children
• Depicting women as helpless victims of violence and abuse
• Degrading or exploiting women, especially in the area of entertainment and advertising, and undermining their role and position in society and reinforcing gender oppression and stereotypes

MISA-Zimbabwe recognises that the Zimbabwean media still has a long way to go in terms of mainstreaming gender in all its coverage: whether on political, economic, or social issues. Secondly, recognising that gender does not refer only to women but to men and that the manner in which a story on gender based violence is presented impacts on attitudes and the nation's perceptions on gender violence.

Annually, MISA-Zimbabwe undertakes a media gender representation monitoring which has over the past two years reflected the glaring gender disparities in media coverage in terms of news sourcing as well as subjects tackled.

Clearly gender based violence is not an issue in Zimbabwe's polarised environment more so after the media hype that accompanied the enactment of the Domestic Violence Act in 2006. There have been no follow ups by the media to determine its impact and whether there has been any significant decrease in gender based violence since its enactment.

The media continues to report on cases of gender based violence as hard news stories that more often than not portray women as simply the victims without getting to the root causes of such violence. While gender activists are aware of the media's power in changing attitudes and mindsets, they need to be more proactive in engaging the media on the issues at hand.

MISA-Zimbabwe is of the strong view that the change agents for gender balanced coverage should be the journalists themselves, especially those in decision making who determine the final content of what is eventually published.

The establishment of the self-regulatory Voluntary Media Council of Zimbabwe (VMCZ) for purposes of enforcing the codes and ethics of the profession through a public complaints mechanism also offers immense opportunity for gender-mainstreamed coverage as a critical component of professional journalism.

MISA-Zimbabwe therefore urges gender activists and female politicians to create more interactive platforms with the media and to be more visible in their activities so that that their contentions and opinions on the issue at hand make news.

Visit the MISA-Zimbabwe fact sheet

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