The United Nations Agency for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women in Serbia (UN Women) announced that, according to the latest research, media in Serbia contribute to increased discrimination against women.
“When it comes to violence against women and girls on social networks, in their reporting, the Serbian media have revealed the identity of the victim in as many as 3/4 of the posts and report more often on specific cases and personal stories of women survivors of violence than on the phenomenon, causes and consequences of violence, as well as the social context in which it takes place,” reads the Agency’s press release.
The Director of UN Women Serbia, Milana Rikanović, has said that the disclosure of private information also contributes to discrimination against women, because it spreads “quickly and goes viral”, so victims can be located more easily, especially if they live in small towns.
She also said that the serious media outlets tended to avoid gender stereotypes unlike tabloids and that, in most cases, they showed an unbiased approach, while answering the five key questions – who, what, when, where and why – and using clear language without too many adjectives.
“Tabloid newspapers use a writing style that is full of adjectives, punctuation, capital letters, and bombastic headlines, as well as use inappropriate photographs and perpetuate gender stereotypes,” says the press release.
Rikanović added that the media in Serbia should report in a less sensational manner, not reveal the identity of the victim and should remove “disturbing” comments from their social network pages.
UN Women, in cooperation with BeFem, conducted a study on discrimination against women as part of the project “Improving the Security of Women in Serbia”, funded by the Norwegian Embassy in Belgrade.
(Novi Magazin, 10.08.2021)
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