Calvin Manika
SINCE December 10, which was the last day of 16 days of the international campaign against Gender Based Violence (GBV), the hype that characterised the nearly three week annual campaign, appears to all have lost steam.
A recent visit at Lupane Civil Courts and Hwange Magistrates’ Courts revealed that GBV related cases make a bulk of cases pending trial.
In many cultures, gender-based violence is seldom openly discussed which drives the subject underground and further propagates many of the misconceptions surrounding it.
Understanding GBV, its roots and contributing factors is of paramount importance. In that regard the media has a role to play.
“Journalism is among the most powerful tools for social justice, particularly in the global fight against gender-based violence. Journalists have the power to amplify the voices of women and girls, to shed light on the forms of violence that target them, and to help communities worldwide address the harmful social norms that underpin gender-inequality and gender-based violence,” wrote Natalia Kanem, UNFPA Executive Director.
In a recent situation report on Zimbabwe, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said between January and September 2020 a total of 5 507 GBV cases were reported through the national GBV hotline.
A 200% increase compared with the same time frame in 2019, when 1930 GBV cases were reported through the hotline. The extended lockdown meant the cases of GBV will be on the rampage again as already witnessed at the Hwange magistrates’ courts in the past two weeks.
The clerk of court could not immediately avail all the information needed by this publication but courts sessions attended by this writer and dockets pending trial at Hwange magistrate court shows that GBV cases are rife.
ZRP Hwange alone recorded 4 cases of Domestic Violence in the first week of the national lockdown. The number is not the reflection of the whole Hwange district as those in rural areas still face various challenges like patriarchy.
In November last year, BMT, a Hwange district based non-governmental organisation in partnership with Safaids held a two-day capacity building workshop for journalists in Victoria Falls.
The capacity building workshop has come to be an annual platform in which journalists especially those in Matabeleland North and others outside sit together to reflect on the reportage of GBV.
It emerged that journalists have a crucial role on GBV in as far as educating the masses and also influencing government policies and stakeholder’s involvement in the fight against the epidemic.
“The workshop was meant to empower journalists on reporting on Gender Based Violence; especially the use of sensitive language, interviewing and writing skills needed on stories related to children on GBV, sometimes there is need of identity protection and verification of facts. I had never taken my time to report on GBV, but through this workshop I have learnt that GBV is a monster not only in Mat North but everywhere and it needs us as journalists to report it extensively,” said Hwange based journalist Rutendo Mapfumo, who is one of those who attended the workshop.
During the same period, in December 2020 Women Institute for Leadership Development (WILD) and its partners invited journalists for a one-day training workshop on gender and GBV reporting at National Arts Gallery in Bulawayo.
Stakeholders in the fight against Gender based Violence continue to see the need for journalists to be trained in reporting on GBV in order to play their key role of education and advocacy.
Hlahlani Ndhlela, a former New Ziana crime columnist in Matabeleland North province said: “Journalists are vanguards of the public, public information and public entities, resources. To this end, they are ideally expected to inform, educate and entertain with utmost adherence to ethics and professionalism. GBV and other forms of abuses have become a cause for concern in journalism. Journos should use fair language, balance their stories (continued coverage of negative stories) about women or men alone is in itself GBV. Therefore, journalists should use neutral diction like ‘they’ instead of him alone or her alone.”
Journalists and other media professionals play a critical role in not only raising awareness of GBV but also in counteracting myths and outdated attitudes that may persist on the issue. Drawing attention to positive stories of empowerment and resilience can assist in illustrating how survivors often act as advocates and agents of change.
Platforms such as those created by BMT help journalists reporting on GBV to avoid judgmental language, writing about a survivor’s history, their sexual practices or sexual orientation as this could imply survivor blame.
Global Protection Cluster in its GBV Prevention and Response Plan outlines that Journalists must consult GBV experts who are familiar with the context. The input of local GBV experts will always increase the depth of understanding by providing relevant contextual information. These experts are usually well-placed to support journalists and other media professionals to ensure survivors’ rights are protected. With the consent of service providers, media reports can include the contact information of local support organizations and services in order to allow survivors or witnesses, their families and others who may have experienced or been affected by GBV to access the care they need.
Muchaneta Chimuka, an awarding winning journalist and correspondent at Zimpapers said, “Journalists fight GBV through reporting like educating, providing information, entertaining and writing investigative stories. Journalists might also write stories that can lead to investigations by police until issues are taken to court. Doing follow up of cases and reporting about them.”
Another multi-award winning freelance journalist Tinashe Muchuri added that, “People do not understand GBV. That is the reason men do not report violence against them by women. They think sixteen days against gender based violence is for women yet it is inclusive. As journalists we have a role to paint a positive picture on GBV especially from survivors than to continue with the negative reporting”.
