Helping Ukrainian media professionals ensure their stories dispel stereotypes, uphold the equality of women and men, and contribute to better protection of their rights is at the heart of a new publication launched in Kyiv on 14 August. "Gender Equality Policy in the Media Content", was developed by the NGO, Women in Media, in close partnership with the Governmental Representative for Gender Equality and the Commission on Journalism Ethics, a self-regulating body for journalists and editorial boards in Ukraine, with assistance provided by the OSCE Secretariat Extra-budgetary Support Programme for Ukraine (SPU).
"We remain committed to promoting a free, independent, and puralistic media. A media that not only informs but also empowers, challenges the status quo, and upholds the principles of gender equality and human rights. That way, it not only tells more accurate stories but also contributes to a more just and equitable society. This in turn contributes to a stronger and more resilient Ukraine," noted Paul Fraleigh, Gender Advisor at the OSCE SPU.
"When we have modern media, abiding by principles of human rights protection and gender equality, the whole of society will feel the impact. We won't see offensive content on screen or hear it on the radio. We will see more coverage of diverse topics or groups, that are currently vulnerable, because nobody talks about them. So, it is my advice to everyone - to make use of this Policy, which is very competent and complex," said Kateryna Levchenko, Governmental Representative for Gender Equality.
The document outlines key principles on the representation of men and women, advice on how to avoid sexism, dos and don'ts for coverage of gender-based violence and conflict-related sexual violence. It was already integrated into editorial policy by Espresso TV group for all its platforms, with several other outlets expressing interest in taking it into account while revising own guidelines.
"Last week, we published all these rules on our website and made a commitment to our audience, to our team, to other Ukrainian media to adhere to the policy of equality between men and women. This applies both to how these rules are applied within our team and to our content as well. The matter is of fundamental importance to us, that's why we joined the initiative", noted Anastasia Ravva, General Producer of Espresso TV.
"This is just a set of daily guidelines and recommendations that should be known and read and re-read from time to time, and, of course, this policy should be alive. It must be constantly updated and reviewed, and no policy is good without its implementation," said Liza Kuzmenko, an expert from Women in Media.
The policy outlines suggestions on how media can make it a useful tool, by incorporating its provision into own editorial policies, making them available to public, educating staff and performing periodic monitoring of own content to check compliance with the adopted principles, among others. Full videos of the presentation event are available here in English and Ukrainian.
