Violence Against Women
Source: Swazi Observer
SAD stories of gross violence against women at the hands of those who claim to love them take up a lot of space in local newspapers.
This is contained in a study conducted by Swaziland Rural Women Assembly (SRWA) which was presented during a short meeting at Mountain Inn yesterday. SRWA Director Hlobsile Dlamini-Shongwe explained that they monitored newspaper coverage of women and girls stories over two years. She said the organisation was formed to address the needs of rural women, noting that they lagged behind in many aspects.
She said the organisation was formed to give women space to come together to speak out, share problems and unleash their potential.
She stated that they also worked with women in the textile industry because they were from the rural areas and went back there when they lost their jobs.
"The study looked at the portrayal of women in Swazi media. We sampled 100 articles from local newspapers during the first year and another 100 the following year. We then analysed the articles and found that during the first year most of the stories reported about women, were actually not reported by women but by male journalists," she said.
Dlamini-Shongwe noted that there was also usage of names such as 'victim', 'survivor', saying there was need to relook at the appropriate term to be used. She said the word 'victim' made the person seem hopeless and defeated, while survivor showed that the person was a fighter.
She went on to say that violence against women took up a lot of space in local newspapers. Adding, Dlamini-Shongwe said: "These are the lives of Swazi women. We are losing a lot of women at the hands of those they love."
During the first year of the study, 31% of the stories covered was violence against women and the number rose to 47% (almost half) during the second year.
The director said the media had reported enough on these stories, adding that as agenda setters, it was time the media sent a different message. He said it was time that solutions were found to this problem.