Drawing on the power of the media to shape and change the way we talk about and view violence in the societies in which we live, it covers topics such as using the right language in news about sexual violence, framing the news, and using images in the news. The website also includes examples of news stories about sexual violence and analyzes those news stories.
Journalists, media professionals, communication faculty students, civil society media professionals, those interested in citizen journalism, and communication faculty members can benefit from the study, which aims to visualize and strengthen the transformative impact of the media in the fight against sexual violence.
How do you use the right news language?
When writing news about sexual violence, we often encounter language that portrays the perpetrator as the victim and blames the survivor, the person exposed to the violence. However, this situation deepens existing inequalities.
So how are rights-based messages about sexual violence made? CŞMD's recommendations on this are as follows:
- Do not use questionable expressions such as "alleged" for the testimony of the person experiencing the violence, but remain neutral.
- Do not use extreme definitions such as "pervert", "monster", "pedophile", "zoophile".
- Use the definition that the interviewee prefers for themselves. Do not use the words "victim" and "victimized" unless the respondent particularly prefers them.
- Some may use "person who has experienced sexual violence" because it lacks detail and generally associates the person with that type of violence.
- Avoid definitions that would legitimize the perpetrator's violent behavior, such as "he went insane, followed the devil, became restless."
- When reporting the story of the person who was sexually violated, do not use verbs such as "confessed," "accepted," "caused," "enabled."
- When reporting sexual violence, do not use language that establishes an affiliation relationship between the survivor and the perpetrator.
- Use words that make it clear that the sexual assault was violent and not consensual.
- When reporting sexual assault, do not use trivializing language or erotic stories and expressions that constitute pornography of violence.
- Avoid extreme and lurid language such as "heinous, horrible, disgusting."