"Training Manual for the Media: Gender, HIV/AIDS and Rights" (published by IPS in 2003)

Download this publication (pdf):
http://www.ipsnews.net/aids_2002/ipsgender2003.pdf"

About the Report

TRAINING MANUAL FOR THE MEDIA: GENDER, HIV/AIDS AND RIGHTS, is a report by Inter Press Service (IPS). The report is a training manual that can be used to train medial personnel on issues of gender, AIDS and the relationship that exists between the two. "There are three (3) modules in the manual which can be used in a variety of ways. A three-day training programme can be designed, or, a one-week course can be developed using sections of the manual in conjunction with other training materials relevant to the topics covered. The modules also can be used as stand-alone training materials for other courses designed on HIV/AIDS or gender."

Excerpt from 'Summary of Results'

GENDER TRAINING FOR THE MEDIA The media is one of the "Critical Areas of Concern" in the 1995 Beijing Platform for Action, which gives a set of actions for governments, civil society, international organizations and the media, to advance women's equality. The two strategic objectives of the Beijing Platform's Section J on the media are:

To increase women's participation and access to expression and decision-making in and through the media and new technologies of communication.
To promote a balanced and non-stereotyped portrayal of women and girls in the media; encourage gender-sensitive training for media professionals; and to take effective measures against pornography.

Media practitioners' gender prejudices and biases are one of the major blocks to the diverse portrayals of women, and to their voices in the media. Journalists and editors are socialized as men and as women, long before they choose journalism as a career. This socialization influences how the media reports on, portrays and provides access to women. Research by Media Watch groups throughout the world show that news is told largely through the eyes, voices and perspectives of men. The media often makes the mistake that gender equals women. This leads to a news approach, which focuses on women as isolated members of societies with specific needs and interests. While this is true due to women's subordinate status in societies across the globe, this approach marginalizes women's voices and boxes women portrayed in the media into stereotypical roles. The media reports on so-called 'women's issues' as not being connected to the issues of society in general, and it fails to make visible the inter-relationships between gender roles, resource access and power. Gender training for the media is important. It helps journalists and editors to understand the attitudes, prejudices, biases and socialization which often come through in media messages; to recognize and analyze the imbalance of women's voices, as compared to men's in the media; and gender training provides skills and techniques to journalists and editors to analyze facts, issues and data from a gender perspective.