According to the Regional Coordinator of the Social Structured Driver Program, Vusi Cebekhulu from South Africa, inequality is the main cause of Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) around the world. He made this disclosure during a two day engagement with media practitioners in partnership with the Men’s Association for Gender Equality Sierra Leone at the CCSL Hall in Freetown in a project titled ‘Right Action and Accountability: supporting community mobilization and state accountability for gender justice in Africa’.
The Norwegian Agency for Development funded engagement espoused how to tackle SGBV, which is predominant across the globe. Vusi Cebekhulu said “sexual and gender based violence is a very sensitive issue” that must be treated with outright severity. He said journalists should be open-minded when reporting on SGBV, adding that the issue of inequality must be addressed in order to fight gender based violence.
He said journalists should be mindful of their reporting in order not to tarnish the image of the victim.
He said the media is a very important tool not only for fighting SGBV in the world but for other thorny issues. Cebekhulu encouraged media practitioners to help propagate the anti SGBV message in positive ways, and help change the narrative among women in society. According to Executive Director of Sonke Gender Justice, Reverend Bafana Khumalo, SGBV is a form of violence based on gender norms and unequal power relations that are embedded in patriarchy.
He said gender based violence cannot be stopped without effective collaboration.
By Mohamed J. Bah