SARAJEVO, 31.11.2017. – Every other woman in Bosnia and Herzegovina experiences gender-based violence, which leads to a number of 750,000 potential victims, whom the General Secretary of the BiH journalists Assocciation, Borka Rudić rated as worrying and pointed out different editorial approaches and a different relationship between the media and victims of gender-based violence are requered.
That is why the topic of the Report on the topic of gender-based violence is the theme of the round table which is being held today in Sarajevo under the project “Exclude violence – Media against violence against women”.
The project is implemented by the BH Association of Journalists, supported by the UN Women Office in BiH and the Swedish International Development and Cooperation Organization (SIDA).
Rudić believes that changing stereotypes about gender-based violence is important because it is the task of the media to report professionally on the basis of the protection and promotion of the human rights of women who are victims of gender-based violence.
“Današnja diskusija je usmjerena u tom pravcu, da se mijenjaju uredničke politike te da izvještavanje o rodno zasnovanom nasilju postane svakodnevna tema u bh. medijima da bi izmijenili dosadašnje prakse”, kazala je.
“Today’s discussion is geared towards changing editorial policies and reporting on gender-based violence to become a daily topic in the BH media in order to change the present practice,” she said.
She also added that it takes more preventive action and less stereotypes on this type of violence that is often misunderstood, as if women or girls are causing such violence.
The general secretary of BHJA expressed hope that today’s discussion and the whole project will result in changes in editorial policies so media will have more content to promote the rights of victims of gender-based violence and that there will be more talked about the prevention of this kind of violence that is a major problem in BiH.
“Editors are thr key people who can change their practices and who, along with all the political issues present in BH media, can also integrate this topic that is of great importance to women in BiH”, concluded Rudić.
Head of UN Women’s Office in BiH David Saunders underlined that media play a key role in preventing violence.
“Insufficient reporting and sensationalism in the media can cause a great deal of damage, because they can affect the way people think and create negative stereotypes, “he said.
Besides, Saunders believes, the media have a major role in education, raising awareness and erasing stereotypes. In fact, as he said, it is mostly about professional reporting, because professional journalists provide accurate information, protect victims’ anonymity, and support them.
His message is that men and boys who are, in general, violent towards women need to jointly fight it and stop their worst impulses and behave dignitously.
