EPU Research Paper
for Summer Term 2009
Topic
Information or
Oppression: An analysis of Media Coverage and Portrayal of Violence against
Women in Uganda
By
Reader:
Abstract: This paper
seeks to analyze how violence against women is depicted in the media in Uganda. The
United Nations declaration on the elimination of violence against women
describes " Violence against women is a manifestation of historically
unequal power relations between men and women, which have led to domination
over and discrimination against women by men to the prevention of the full
advancement of women, and that violence against women is one of the crucial
social mechanisms by which women are forced into a subordinate position
compared to men".
Several women in Uganda have
been targeted of the recent rise in the new wave of crime targeting mainly
women and children. Women have been caught up in a wave of both inter and intra
domestic violence as a result of relationships gone bad and sometimes family misunderstandings.
Women have also been targets of one of the most heinous crime- Human Sacrifice
or Ritual Murders. Under the ritual murders, the perpetrators target women and
children because they are very easy to woo, are unsuspicious and less likely to
fight back if they sense something fishy against their lives. Evidently, the
women and children are being targeted because of the gender stereotypes still
prevalent in many African cultures that portray the woman as the weaker sex,
submissive members of society and defenseless species of human beings.
The media exposure of women
as victims of violence has been rather sensational, sloppy and devoid of
serious analysis. Obviously violence remains one of the biggest threats to the
security of the women and children in many communities. The media actually
tends to create significant perceptions about feminist and masculinity in the
society.
Some authors have actually
argued that the end result of all this is that men become objectified as
masculine, while women become objectified as feminine.
This paper therefore will
seek to examine the validity of my hypothesis: Violence against women is
largely of news value to the media because it provokes public interest and
confirms the deep rooted stereotyping, but doesn’t advocate for a change in the
gender stereotyping that still exists in our communities.
The paper discusses whether
such factors as the characteristics of the victim, the nature of violence
inflicted on the woman, the class and demographics play any role in how the
media reports about the violence inflicted on women. But it will also be worthy
to note that at the end that the media tends to represent women according to
the societal constructions of the genders and the media reinforces these
constructions and only tries to strike a balance in the portrayal of women as
victims of violence.
Content
Chapter 1: Introduction………………………………………………………………4
Chapter 2: Role
of Media in Uganda…………………………………………………6
Chapter 3: Content
Analysis of the Stories about women as Victims of Violence……9
Chapter 4: Tools
Used By Media to Reinforce Gender Stereotypes………………..29
Conclusions ………………………………………………………………………29
Recommendations………………………………………………………………….30
Introduction
Violence against women is
increasingly becoming a major security threat to the existence of the women
folk in communities.
This paper is based on the rising spate of crime in Uganda-
targeting mainly women and children. Bunch (1999) states "Imagine a people
routinely subjected to assault, rape, sexual slavery, arbitrary imprisonment,
torture, verbal abuse, mutilation, even murder – all because they were born
into a particular group. Imagine further that their sufferings were compounded
by systematic discrimination and humiliation in the home and workplace, in
classrooms and courtrooms, at worship and at play. Few would deny that this
group had been singled out for gross violations of human rights. Such groups
exist. Its members comprise half of humanity. Yet it is rarely acknowledged
that violence against women and girls, many of whom are brutalized from cradle
to grave simply because of their gender, is the most Pervasive human rights
violation in the world today. (Bunch, 1999, p. 1)
Violence against women and
children is increasingly becoming a security threat in many communities across Uganda. The
worst case scenario is that serious violence is targeted at women and children
often looked at the weaker gender in the society.
The media is seen as a
crucial actor in shaping the trend, focus and the publics perception about
women caught up in the trap of violence.
According to Nancy Berns in
her study, " Degendering the problem and gendering the blame: Political
Discourse on women and violence" analyzing popular representations of
social problems is important because individuals draw on these sources when
constructing their understanding of issues such as violence against women.
Berns (2001) further notes
that; "Newspaper columns, Magazine articles, films made for TV movies,
television special reports and talk shows are all public arenas where images of
domestic violence are constructed, debated and reproduced. From these
resources, individuals construct there own conceptions of what is normal and
acceptable."
Also important to note is the
fact that that the worst form of sensational and oppressive reporting occurs
when the woman is the perpetrator of the violence. In most cases women who have
cut off the penises of their husbands have attracted front page attention in
the local newspapers. But the fact that the woman could have acted in self defense
is never the pedestal upon which the entire story rotates.
As Frieda Werden of the
Women's International News Gathering Service (WINGS, www.wings.org) points out, "Men's
violence against women is treated like a "dog bites man" story, and
women's violence against men as a "man bites dog" story. Thus the
amount of coverage in mainstream media is inversely proportional to the actual
prevalence of these kinds of violence, and gives a false impression".
The purpose of this paper
therefore is to analyze how the media's portrayal of the woman as victim of
violence further advances the aspect of women stereotyping. I will analyze five
articles written by an independent News Agency – Uganda Radio Network. (URN).
The five articles under
review were picked from Uganda Radio Network the only privately owned News
Agency in Uganda.
The News agency is the main source of News for more than 50 Radio stations
across the country, and also a great source of news for individual subscribers',
corporations and some government departments.
This paper will study the
findings from the articles under investigation and highlight the stereotypes
represented and analyses how these media stereotypes affect the perceptions of
the readers and the public.
The paper will also seek to
look at the characteristics of the women as housewives, Mothers, and workers
and overall as the weaker sex in the society. From the articles under review it
will become clear that violence, particularly against
women, is caused by the abuser's desire for power and control. The articles
will also show that violence can be inflicted on any woman regardless of their
status, age, tribe or cultural backgrounds.
Globally,
the UN 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action state:
"Violence against women is a manifestation of the historically unequal
power relations between men and women, which have led to domination over and
discrimination against women by men and to the prevention of women's full
advancement. Violence against women throughout the life cycle derives
essentially from cultural patterns, in particular the harmful effects of
certain traditional or customary practices and all acts of extremism linked to
race, sex, language or religion that perpetrate the lower status accorded to
women in the family, the workplace, the community and society. Violence against
women is exacerbated by social pressures, notably the shame of denouncing
certain acts that have been perpetrated against women; women's lack of access
to legal information, aid or protection; the lack of laws that effectively
prohibit violence against women; failure to reform existing laws; inadequate
efforts on the part of public authorities to promote awareness of and enforce
existing laws; and the absence of educational and other means to address the
causes and consequences of violence".
