Harare,  - Zimbabwean journalists, particularly those in decision making posts, have a critical role in contributing to the end of gender based violence.

In a statement to mark the 16 days of activism against gender violence from Wednesday to December 10, Misa Zimbabwe said in a statement, that the Zimbabwean media still had a long way to go in terms of mainstreaming gender in all its coverage: whether on political, economic, or social issues. It said gender did not refer only to women but to men, adding the manner in which a story on gender based violence was presented impacted on attitudes and the nation’s perceptions on gender violence.

"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," said Misa-Zimbabwe.

  "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."

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. This year's theme is : Commit. Act. Demand: We CAN End Violence against Women.

Tthe SADC Protocol on Gender and Development of 2007 has urged states 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 and 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 undertakes a media gender representation monitoring annually 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.  It urged 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.

By Radio VOP