Media guilty of human rights violations – LEGABIBO
The media is guilty of human rights violations, says the Spokesperson of LEGABIBO, Matlhogonolo Samsam. LEGABIBO, the human rights advocacy group, has engaged and is constantly engaging the media to find ways to help one another report better on issues affecting gay people. But despite continued efforts, some media houses are still reluctant to meet LEGABIBO halfway. This reluctance could be fueling and leading to bad reporting on issues of gay people.
According to the LEGABIBO spokesperson, the group regularly meets editors and reporters and shares reporting guidelines with them, but some media companies are still set on their old habits.
Sharing examples of some stories that were hair- raising, Samsam explains that in December last year, there was a harrowing incident involving a gay person who was raped, violated and murdered. She said the media took away from the seriousness of the incident.
“When a person is raped and murdered and you turn it into a relationship squabble, it kind of dehumanises the victim and takes away from the seriousness of the offence that was committed against the victim,” Samsam said highlighting that there was no need to dwell on their sexuality.
She said there was another report early this year of a man who raped another man, and that the police were looking for this perpetrator. The media, she said, turned it around and said that there was a gay rapist, yet they had never met this person to ascertain whether the perpetrator was indeed Gay.
“You can’t identify someone as gay unless they have personally told you that they are gay,” Samsam said, noting that such stories create negative stereotypes.
“Now it turns into an issue that ‘ Gays are paedophiles’, ‘ Gays are rapists’ ,’” she said.
She also pointed to media mis- gendering, when it comes to issues of transgender people, with instances where the media will say a man is a woman. “Such funny things do not sit well. These are more aimed at pulling sales. It violates the subject,” Samsam said.
Other issues that are offensive include how the media will ask questions that are not related to the story, and would not be asked of any other interviewee. Instead these intrusive questions are meant to satisfy the curiosity of the reporter.
“When you are interviewing a transgender woman, and you ask them about their genitals, that is very inappropriate. Even for a heterosexual, they would not feel comfortable talking about their private parts,” Samsam said.
“And I don’t know where they get the idea that it is OK to ask a transgender person about their genitals,” she added, indicating further that it was sad as some of the people who did this should know better, as they had attended LEGABIBO training in best reporting practices.
“Other issues that we pick have to do with pronouns, such as saying ‘ they’, and the editors changing ( this), thinking that it was a grammatical error.
“Those are the conversations that we are constantly having. Wherever the gaps are, we are trying to fill those,” she said, highlighting that the organisation was always ready to assist if a journalist – whether a reporter or editor – needed help with understanding some of the issues or ways of using appropriate terms.
She said the Iranti Media Guide which the organisation has shared with some Editors provided guidance, for example, on writing about a transgender person, and what would be appropriate and what should be avoided. It also has definition of terms, to improve understanding.