A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
(Full Story)
Search This Blog
Back to 500BC.
==========================
Thiranjala Weerasinghe sj.- One Island Two Nations
?????????????????????????????????????????????????Friday, May 5, 2017
The objectification of women in the Sinhala Press
Featured image courtesy Colombo Telegraph
DEEPANJALIE ABEYWARDANA on 05/03/2017
Sri
Lanka’s media continues to deviate from established standards
of ethical journalism. This includes graphic pictures, misleading photos
and commentary of events, racial labels used selectively against ethnic
groups, factual errors and the denial of ‘right of response’ in
reporting. Accordingly, the representation of women in Sri Lankan media
over the years has breached many ethical standards, resulting in the
reinforcement of negative stereotypes. This stereotyping can directly
influence how women are perceived in society.
In this context, this article offers observations on the portrayal of women in the Sinhala print media based on data from Ethics Eye, a platform that monitors and flags violations of media ethics in seven Sinhala newspapers: the Dinamina, the Divaina, the Lankadeepa, the Mawbima, Sunday Divaina, Sunday Lankadeepa and the Sunday Mawbima.
The sexual objectification of women in Sinhala newspapers
Some mainstream Sinhala newspapers in Sri Lanka violate this ethical
guideline by portraying women as sex objects. Women are frequently
objectified in the press with the use of sexist references and pictures.
These references are often ones that expose semi-nudity, which are
irrelevant to the context of the article. For example, one Sinhala
newspaper referred to a woman as “baduwa” in one of their columns,
insinuating that women are sex objects. The same newspaper identified
all actresses in Sri Lanka as engaging in “the oldest profession in the
world”, depicting them all as sex workers.[1]
Further, a series of articles published in one of the mainstream Sinhala
newspapers carried images of foreign women in bikinis, which were
irrelevant to the story they were reporting. The series did not carry a
disclaimer to indicate that the photographs – taken with long-lens
cameras – were taken without consent. As stated in the Code of
Professional Practice published by the Editor’s Guild of Sri Lanka, the
use of long-lens or other cameras to photograph people without consent
on private or public property where there is a reasonable expectation of
privacy is unacceptable – unless in the public interest.
At the same time, the same newspaper that referred to all actresses as
sex workers also upheld women as the ‘guardians of cultural and moral
values’ in another article. This comment was in criticism of the gazette
notification issued by the Ministry of Education, banning the
imposition of dress codes for women entering public and private schools.
Reductionist terms such as “beautiful” are used in the press, especially
when referring to rape victims and survivors. The physical appearance
of female victims and survivors of rape, accidents or other incidents is
referred to in many articles in the Sinhala press. The reporting of
unconnected, unnecessary details, such as physical appearance, when it
is not directly related to the story is a common occurrence in Sinhala
newspapers. For example, when two female students died from a train
accident in Dehiwela last year, six out of seven Sinhala newspapers
referred to their physical appearance when reporting the incident.
The use of such terms, which are both irrelevant and sexist, raise
serious questions on the extent to which the media in Sri Lanka fulfill
its ethical obligations.
The objectification of women in the press reinforces stereotyping of
women. Moreover, the sexual objectification and damaging representation
of women in the media leads to the trivialisation of violence against
women. The Guardian recently
found that the sexualisation and objectification of women and girls in
the media are linked to the development of sexist attitudes in society
and the acceptance of masculine ideologies that objectify women.[2]
Violence against women sensationalised
In dealing with social issues of a particularly shocking or emotionally
painful nature – such as violence and drug abuse – the Code of
Professional Practice states that the press should take special care to
present facts, opinions, photographs and graphics with due sensitivity
and discretion, subject to its duty to publish in the public interest.
However, some Sinhala newspapers violate this guideline by
sensationalising and romanticising news when reporting on acts of
violence against women, such as rape and sexual abuse. For example, some
papers referred to the suspect or perpetrator of sex crime as a
“cupid”, a term which romanticises them. At the same time, victims and
survivors of rape are often blamed for the attire they wore or for being
at the wrong place at the wrong time.
When newspapers hold women accountable for rape, it not only adversely
affects the way society views women but also promotes the impunity of
perpetrators of violence against women.
In its attempt to sensationalise a story to make it more enticing to an
audience, the media neglect the important role it plays in creating
awareness about sex crimes. Rape, domestic abuse and other forms of
violence are a taboo subject in society and go unreported in many cases.
Sensationalising these acts in reportages takes attention away from
important aspects such as the prevention and mitigation of such crimes.
This includes awareness about helplines for victims of sexual abuse as
well as the existence of organisations dedicated to helping women who
have experienced sex crimes.
What can be done?
The first step towards fixing this issue is creating awareness about the
ethical violations committed by newspapers in reporting on women. On
International Women’s Day 2017, Ethics Eye released a video highlighting
some of the ethical guidelines violated by Sinhala newspapers in this
regard. Furthermore, triggering a discussion around ethical violations
in the media and spreading awareness around them gives the public the
information it needs to hold journalists and editors answerable to their
mistakes and damage caused by harmful reporting. Moreover, training
journalists on media ethics, including on reporting on women in a manner
that is not discriminatory and sexist, is urgently needed in Sri Lanka.
[1] See the Ethics Eye Facebook page for further reference