LAB 8 - Can stereotypes against women be banned from the media?

20 November 2018 - 14.30-16.30 - CITY HALL (9 rue brulee) - Interpretation: FR/EN

Through their reporting, the media actively shape opinions, attitudes and ideas. Integrating a gender equality perspective in this area is therefore a powerful tool to induce social changes. How does the media promote gender equality in societies with inequalities that are deeply rooted within their social fabric? How can monitoring mechanisms be linked with regulatory bodies to ban stereotypes from the media?

initiative 1

The Appropriate Communication Techniques for Development (ACT), Egypt

Founded as NGO in 1990, “Appropriate Communication Techniques for Development” (ACT) has started working in marginalised areas and governorates of Upper Egypt, where cultural traditions are biased against women, and where patriarchal relations are dominant, in addition to extreme poverty and ignorance. Its main goals consist in fighting violence against women, strengthening and building capacities of non-governmental organisations, media institutions, media persons and journalists to create mechanisms and strategies, in order to confront this violence as well as a violence- free society that achieves welfare, that respects human rights for both men and women, believes in equality and democracy as a path towards sustainable just development. ACT is a founding member of the Arab network for monitoring the image of women and men in media, which targets mass media that would contribute in changing the mainstream culture in Arab societies through the monitoring the image of men and women in media. The network acts upon the belief in justice towards women’s issues, fighting discrimination against women, end injustice, establish equality, democracy, non-violence, transparency, gender, respect for women’s bodies based on international charters for human rights.

Presenter(s)

Samah MANSUR

Gender and media unit officer, ACT

Egypt

Samah Mansur has worked for women’s rights for more than ten years. She holds a master degree in sustainable international development from Brandeis University. She currently works as a gender and media officer for the Appropriate Communication Techniques for Development, Egypt. She is a founding member of the Arab network for monitoring the image of men and women in media. She helped found the Aswatna (“our voices”) coalition, which focuses on involving women in society. She also helped begin the Shoft Taharosh (“I saw harassment”) initiative to combat this phenomenon.

initiative 2

Ukraine without sexism, Women’s rights protection league, Ukraine

The “Women’s rights protection league “Harmony of equal” is a non-profit organisation, active in the seven regions of Ukraine and consists of volunteer activists, among them sociologists, scholars, gender experts, lawyers and journalists. The main goals of the organisation are attainment and protection of the social, economic, cultural and other rights of women in Ukraine, development of a society of gender equality, mutual respect and social partnership between men and women. The “Ukraine without sexism”-initiative aims to reduce the amount of sexist content in visual advertising, media and statements of public figures by means of public monitoring. A network of inspectors monitors advertisements and media on sexism. Besides monitoring, educational meetings and communication confront the sexism issue. The campaign has started in September, 2017 and has a permanent character. During the campaign’s implementation 320 complaints on discrimination issue were sent to the State Committee for Consumer Protection, the Industrial Gender Committee for Advertising, the Ombudsmen, the National Council of Ukraine on Television and Radio Broadcasting, 10 advertisements have been considered as discriminatory and fines have been imposed.

Presenter(s)

Oleksandra GOLUB

Head of the Women’s rights protection league

Ukraine

Golub is the head of the Women’s rights protection league. Ms Golub is a lawyer, human rights activist. Now she is a PhD student of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. Her research is dedicated to gender issue in legal relation. Ms Golub used to work at the Parliament of Ukraine as a consultant of Subcommittee on gender equality and non-discrimination.

inititative 3

Chiennes de garde

The association Chiennes de garde fights against symbolic violences against women in the public space and in particular in the media. It regularly reports sexism in advertisements by filing complaints to a jury specialised in advertisement ethics (an entity of the authority of regulation of the advertisement profession). The association is invited to present its arguments towards the jury at the same time as the incriminated advertisement. The jury then give an advisory opinion. For the audiovisual medias the association regularly reports to the Superior Council of audiovisual gestures or words of a sexist nature from tv host. Stations or channel were they work are then sanctioned by the Council. These sanctions can go as far as financial sanctions. Once a year the association also rewards the “Ringard de l’année” (“Uncool of the year”) who pronounced the most sexist words in the medias.

Presenter(s)

Marie-Noelle BAS

President, Chiennes de garde

France

Discussants

Discussants are invited to take part in the Labs in order to share their experience with the presented democratic initiatives and try to bring broader perspectives to the following discussions.

Israël NISAND

Great Witness, Gynecologist

France

moderator

Nawel RAFIK-ELMRINI

Deputy Mayor of the City of Strasbourg

France

Nawel Rafik-Elmrini is a lawyer since 2002. She has been Deputy Mayor of Strasbourg for European and international relations, twinning initiatives between towns, decentralized cooperation and adviser to Strasbourg Eurométropole since 2008. She represents the City of Strasbourg in the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, and she is particularly committed to education for European citizenship, cultural diversity and refugee reception and integration. Ms. Rafik-Elmrini chairs, among others, the Information Center on European Institutions. She is also Vice-President of Grand-Est Solidarités et Coopérations pour le Développement.

rapporteurs