SEESAC Establishes an Important Baseline by Conducting an Analysis of Media Reporting on Gender Based Violence with Firearms in the Western Balkans
Based on an in-depth and detailed research, SEESAC conducted the Analysis of Media Reporting on Firearms Misuse in Male Gender-Based Violence against Women in the Western Balkans. The Analysis establishes a baseline of the current media environment when it comes to covering firearms misuse in gender-based violence (GBV) and provides concrete recommendations that would contribute to reporting more aligned with the public interest.
The analysis found that media reporting largely reduces gender-based violence to a series of individual incidents, ignoring that they are repeating with consistent or rising frequency and not reflecting on them as societal phenomenon that particularly affects women. In 90% of reviewed articles there is no content that would inform the public about the cycle of violence, point to links between the presence of firearms and rate of fatalities, provide information on where survivors could get assistance, or generally serve to educate the public about the phenomenon. Ministries of Interior and police, followed by the prosecutors’ offices have been identified as key sources of information that media rely on, whether as experts or through press releases. Privacy of victims and their families was frequently violated, with as many as 2/3 reports revealing their identity. Relying on irrelevant interlocutors, sharing irrelevant details, diminishing or mocking violence, and even shifting the responsibility from the perpetrator to the victim or some external circumstances are some of the troublesome trends identified as present in significant portion of reports. Sensationalism was found to marks this kind of reporting.
The Analysis was prompted by participants of the Regional Awareness-raising Task Force from the ministries of interior of 6 jurisdictions of the Western Balkans, whose work is directly linked to the implementation of awareness raising activities in their respective institutions. Among their priorities, they noted: 1. bolstering awareness-raising on domestic violence, and 2. Improving communication with the media on awareness-raising on SALW related issues. The Analysis aims to contribute to achievement of both of the said goals.
Increasingly frequent and deadly incidents of gender-based violence mark a trend that spans the Western Balkans and has caused concern among institutions throughout the region. At the same time, SEESAC’s research clearly shows that firearms are most deadly in domestic violence incidents, a context in which gender-based violence is most prevalent. In fact, in the region, more people die from firearms in domestic violence disputes than in any other type of incident. The role media plays in the way this phenomenon is understood and discussed by the society at large is key.
The first step of the analysis was the collection and review of ~25,000 online and print media articles written on SALW, published in 2022 in 5 jurisdiction of the Western Balkans[1]. A group of 17 local journalists reviewed these articles, identified ~1,500 that dealt specifically with SALW in the context of gender-based violence, and reviewed them in detail using 31 predetermined indicators. Prior, journalist attended SEESAC’s regional training designed to better educate them on the specific dynamics of GBV, the outsized role firearms have in these incidents, the importance of ethical reporting on this societal problem and disheartening repercussions of an unethical approach. They were familiarized with the Guidelines on Ethical Reporting on Gender Based Violence as well as proposed set of indicators for the upcoming analysis.
The Analysis reviews trends identified based on the said indicators for the region and for each jurisdiction individually. The Analysis was guided by a premise that gender-based violence is a societal problem, one rooted in unequal distribution of power between men and women, and that media have a responsibility to report on it in an ethical manner – serving the interest of the public.
In this work, SEESAC partnered with the group Journalists Against Violence Against Women, the only such group in the region that has for years been analysing media reporting of gender-based violence against women, devising guidelines to improve the existing journalistic norms and practices, advocating that gender-based violence be presented as a social problem, and training hundreds of journalists throughout the region on the topic. The Group was co-founded and later supported by UNDP Serbia and B92. The indicators used in the regional analysis are based on the indicators used by the Group for their media analysis but have been significantly expanded in order to adequately capture coverage of misuse of firearms.
The trends identified by the Analysis subsequently prompted and shaped the development of several additional activities implemented by SEESAC including: a series of 11 trainings with representatives of the media, ministries of interior and prosecutors’ offices in all 6 jurisdictions, and development 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 Analysis 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.
SEESAC is supporting journalists and authorities from the Western Balkans to address gender-based violence with the use of small arms and light weapons in the framework of the regional project Support for Enhancing the Fight Against the Illegal Possession, Misuse, and Trafficking of Small Arms and Light Weapons in the Western Balkans funded by the European Union through the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA II).
[1] Albania was not included in the regional analysis because the OSCE Presence in Albania was planning to conduct a national analysis of media reporting on gender-based violence and firearms at a similar time, thus it was deemed that there was no need for duplication.