SEESAC Publishes a New Knowledge Product - Strives to Strengthen Communication with the Public About the Gender-based Violence with Firearms
SEESAC has published a set of Guidelines for Officials of the Ministries of Interior and Police Services for Communication with the Media in Cases of Firearm Misuse in Gender-Based Violence. The Guidelines were developed to address challenges defined by participants of the Regional Awareness-raising Task Force (RAR Task Force), namely the need for more effective communication with the media and the need for capacity building to raise awareness about domestic violence.
To address the above challenges, and to ascertain how media reports on domestic violence with firearms, SEESAC first conducted The Analysis of media reporting on firearms misuse in male gender-based violence against women in the Western Balkans, together with the group Journalists Against Violence Against Women[1]. The aim was to identify the main weaknesses and strengths of current media reporting.
The Analysis showed that institutions, most notably the Ministries of Interior (MoIs) and police services, are important sources of information for the media on this topic. That their press releases are often cited verbatim and their experts frequently quoted. Thus, when it comes to male gender-based violence (GBV) against women with firearms misuse, the MoIs and police services have a significant impact on shaping public opinion through the information they provide about relevant incidents and the phenomenon more generally in the form of their press releases, media statements and interviews. It thus followed that they are natural allies of the media in reporting on this problem as they can not only significantly contribute to improving the quality of media reporting, which is in the interest of the public, but also directly influence how the public perceives the problem.
The results of the Analysis served as the basis for the development of the Guidelines for the officials of the MOIs and police services to help them inform both the media and the public about GBV with firearms in a manner that better aligns with the public interest. Based on the results of the Analysis, the Guidelines define fourteen (14) problematic areas in the way information is currently being shared with the public on the issue of GBV with firearms. More importantly, the Guidelines provide concrete steps that representatives of the MoIs and police services can take, when communicating with the media or with the pubic directly, to help improve the public discourse. The publication is available in English and relevant local languages (Albanian, BCMS, Macedonian).
The development of the Guidelines directly contributes to the implementation of the Roadmap for a sustainable solution to the illegal possession, misuse and trafficking of small arms and light weapons and their ammunition in the Western Balkans, with a focus on Goal 4 of the Roadmap, which states: Significantly reduce the supply, demand and misuse of firearms through increased awareness, education, outreach and advocacy.
The Guidelines were published as a part of SEESAC’s wider work on strengthening the response to factors fuelling the demand for and misuse of firearms in the Western Balkans as part of the Support for Enhancing the Fight Against the Illegal Possession, Misuse, and Trafficking of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) in the Western Balkans project, funded by the European Union through the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA II) (2021/425-067).
[1] With the support of UNDP Serbia, the group Journalist Against Violence Against Women have been monitoring the quality of media coverage of violence against women in Serbia since 2019. Among their other activities, they have also developed Guidelines for Media Reporting on Violence against Women.
Guidelines for Officials of the Ministries of Interior and Police Services for Communication with the Media in Cases of Firearm Misuse in Gender-Based Violence