The UNESCO Regional Office in Abuja has trained representatives of various media outfits in Gombe State on Balanced Gender-Based Violence Reportage in Gombe State.
The two-day workshop is part of a Japanese Government funded project titled “Empowerment of Women and Girls in Marginalised Communities for Better Well-Being through Education and Advocacy” aimed at balancing reportage on gender-based violence and how journalists could use their platforms to advocate for the rights of women and girls on Gender Base Violence, GBV and to educate the public on COVID-19 prevention, violent extremism and hate speech.
One of the resource persons and consultants during the training, Dr. Sharon Adetutu Omotoso, from the University of Ibadan said the training was significant because of the numerous challenges being recorded in communities around the globe, such as the Covid-19, which had created opportunities for the upsurge in GBVs.
“Although we’ve always had GBV around, but we noticed that the advent of Covid-19 aggravated the issues of gender-based violence. And apart from that, we know that there is a lot of pressure on journalists at this time to provide information. And so, as a result of that it is important for us to strengthen capacity, come together to share experiences,” said Dr. Omotoso.
She said the training was important for journalists to concentrate on Gender-Based reportage in marginalised communities, because most of the reports by journalists had been majorly on issues in the urban areas, thereby leaving out other communities in the interior.
“So, we believe that some communities are not receiving sufficient attention, in terms of news reportage, in terms of government attention, in terms of sharing their experiences, in terms of sharing their experiences and their challenges with relevant stakeholders,” said Dr. Omotoso.
She said the participants were expected after the training to provide adequate information, to be sensitive in their reportage in order to avoid misleading the public, as well as being the link between the government and the public and step down to training to their colleagues.
The Japan-UNESCO project/training also equipped journalists with strategies for developing quality content on gender-sensitive reportage, countering hate speech, mis/disinformation and early warning the mechanism on SGBV and its impact on the communities.
Similarly, they were taught the rudiments of Media and Information Literacy and how to utilize its concepts to improve reportage on Sexual and Gender-Based Violence.
Two of the journalists, Mr. Chima Azubuike, Mr. Williams Attah, and Mrs. Assaneth Silas Paris, all share with Voice of Nigeria what they were taking home with them after the training.
“I have learned how to use my medium to amplify the voices of women that are suffering from Gender-Based Violence. Not just women, but boys and girls. So, this is really one aspect I would like to take seriously as a journalist,” said Mr. Azubuike.
“I understand basically that if I am pursuing something as a reporter, you know we are agenda setters and we have not seen any change. What I learned here is that there are many ways you can turn to and try,, so that the much-needed result will come and they will definitely come. And these are many of the things I learned,” said Mr. Attah.
“I am taking back with me so many things, especially in developing a critical attitude towards my writing. I am taught not to look at things at their face value, but I should develop critical thinking, analysis to accessing news and assessing it,” said Paris.
The Japanese UNESCO Project, executed in Bauchi, Delta and Gombe States intended to promote the empowerment of women and girls in marginalized communities for resilience strengthening and self-actualization through education, along with effective advocacy for eliminating sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), ultimately contributing to peace, stability and inclusive development of Nigeria.
The objectives are to provide a second chance education opportunity, incorporating training on COVID-19 preventive measures, to women and girls, particularly adolescents at risk of dropping out of school and young women facing intersecting marginalization in Bauchi, Delta and Gombe States, as well as strengthening institutional capacity in three benefiting states to manage the planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.
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