Culture change on gender: the media’s role | Marceline Naudi

Dr Marceline Naudi, Gender & Sexualities

A lot has been written and spoken about femicide in Malta these last few weeks, following Malta’s first femicide of 2022 on 2 January.

Print media reporting and TV/radio programmes have been plentiful, several referring to the link between violence against women – including femicide – and gender inequality.

However, once the hype is over, the media will move on to other more interesting matters, until the next time… And so it was and so it will be.

One thing that has been mentioned time and again is that we need to change the culture, mentalities, move away from harmful attitudes, behaviours and stereotypes. These maintain the patriarchal culture, gender inequality, and by default, make violence against women less unacceptable, more normalised.

Violence against women is a continuum ranging from sexual comments thrown at women in the street to the killing of a woman because she is a woman, i.e. femicide.

Whilst we still have men who believe it’s okay to pass sexual comments on women they don’t know, that it’s a laugh to feel a woman up in a crowded club, that sexist jokes are funny, etc. we will continue to have violence against women in all of its forms, including femicide.

The media have a role to play in changing this culture.

First of all, of course the media needs to be careful how it reports incidents involving any form of violence against women.

However, more than that, journalists need to keep this issue on the agenda, because it is a valid and important one, not only for women but for society as a whole.

Media informs. Media can educate. Media can influence. Media can create change. Media can either work to maintain gender inequality – and by default, disrespect and violence against women – or it can challenge it.

Through informative pieces and programmes it can help to ‘normalise’ respect and equity between the genders.

We should not wait until we have another femicide for this issue to be once more in the media limelight.