UNFPA calls for ethical, safety on reportage of GBV

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has called on media  practitioners to  consider basic ethical and safety principles while reporting gender-based violence (GBV) and other related issues  in Nigeria.

UNFPA Deputy Representative in Nigeria, Erika Godson, spoke at the close of a two-day media capacity building on how to write sensitive articles on GBV and COVID-19 reportage in Abuja.

She said failing to adhere to the ethical principles puts women and girls, families and care providers at risk.

She said media reporting on sexual and other forms of gender-based violence facilitates greater advocacy with stakeholders such as decision makers and communities to ensure protection of survivors and those that are at risk of GBV.

Erika also said that the numerous reports by conventional and citizen journalists have labelled GBV as a silent pandemic, and it is competing for news space alongside reports on COVID-19.

“It is expedient for journalists to be trained on the urgent need to prioritize ethical and safety considerations that preserve the safety, confidentiality and dignity of GBV survivors, their families, their communities, and those who are trying to help them, when they compile the media reports.”

A media consultant, Senator Iroegbu, also charged journalists to make use of the various social media to propagate their stories effectively adding that they should always write human angle stories on issues of GBV.