Argentina's first national network of
journalists with a gender vision intends to promote the
enjoyment of full citizenship by women, and to point out the
ways in which women's rights are infringed on a daily basis.
The "Argentine Network of Journalists for
non-sexist communication" has the Spanish acronym PAR, which
means "peer" or "equal". The newly formed group was founded by
women media workers from 11 Argentine provinces, and its goal
is to spark debate about gender issues in the existing media,
and in new outlets that members plan to create.
The idea for PAR emerged from the Latin
American Meeting of Journalists with a Gender Vision, held in
Campeche, Mexico in September. Participants at that gathering
came from Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the
Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru,
Uruguay and Venezuela.
Journalists who attended the Latin American
meeting, most of whom were women, discussed the need for a
network to alert people about gender inequality inherent in
the mass media, and to debate strategies for change. They
agreed that creating national networks would be a key first
step.
One such national group was established along
these lines in Mexico in 1995. There are also national
networks operating in Guatemala and Nicaragua, and as of this
month, in Argentina. In an interview with IPS, Sandra Chaher,
the coordinator of PAR, explained the network's purpose.
A meeting of journalists with a gender vision
aimed primarily at Argentine journalists was held in Buenos
Aires in November, attended by some 70 journalists from 11
Argentine provinces and from Chile, Mexico and Uruguay.
They decided to form an Argentine virtual
network (PAR) for information exchange and interaction, and to
hold a yearly gathering immediately before each annual
National Women's Meeting, held annually in different cities to
address women's and pro-choice concerns.
Participants at this First National Meeting
of Media Professionals, organised by Artemisa Comunicación,
were convinced that coverage of gender perspective has been
neglected by the media, and blamed this on editorial policies
and the lack of interest of media decision-makers in articles
which they rate as barely newsworthy.
A tour of inspection of newspaper and
magazine stands, and a sample viewing of the most popular
Argentine television programmes, showed that semi-naked women
continue to be used as decorative objects or as strategies to
increase the impact of advertising and enhance sales.
The portrayal of women, even in the more
traditional media whose treatment of women is less offensive,
does not contribute to a balanced image of women and men as
equals.
The Fourth World Conference on Women held in
Beijing in 1995 drew up a Platform for Action which recognised
that "print and electronic media in most countries do not
provide a balanced picture of women's diverse lives and
contributions to society," and affirmed that "the lack of
gender sensitivity in the media is evidenced by the failure to
eliminate the gender-based stereotyping that can be found in
public and private local, national and international media
organisations."
"The continued projection of negative and
degrading images of women in media communications --
electronic, print, visual and audio -- must be changed," the
Platform says, and it commits governments to "promote women's
full and equal participation in the media, including
management, programming, education, training and research."
It also recommends encouraging and
recognising "women's media networksàas a means for the
dissemination of information and the exchange of views," and
it suggests encouraging "gender-sensitive training for media
professionals." But in spite of these commitments, the media
are advancing at a snail's pace, and no voices are being
raised to draw attention to persistent stereotypes.
Chaher, co-editor of Artemisa Noticias, a
website news magazine, explained that until seven years ago
the media felt under no obligation to dedicate more space to
women's issues, but they have now recognised this need. "Women
have become more visible in terms of column inches and air
time, but gender issues are not always addressed, because few
of the media giants know what the difference is," she
explained.
Issues important to women, such as domestic
violence, now receive more coverage in the media, but "the
treatment of these subjects is not correct," she stated.
For example, when a woman is murdered by her
husband or lover, it is often referred to automatically as a
"crime of passion," but this description overlooks the real
essence of gender violence.
"Frequently, articles that have a gender
perspective arise from the personal goodwill and educational
background of the individual journalist. But then decisions
about headlines, page allocation, space and layout are made at
a higher editorial level, and may distort the author's
original angle," said Chaher, who is an expert in social
communication.
The journalists who gathered for the national
meeting said that any news item can be analysed from a gender
perspective, which requires looking at how men and women are
affected differently by the same events, such as poverty,
access to employment and loans, violence and education.
Participants agreed that the new PAR network
should be used to provide sources of information and training;
have an impact on the media and other public communication
opportunities; monitor the news from a gender perspective; and
establish new ways of communicating with and through the mass
media.
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