Working with media partners to provide sensitivity training and encourage positive storytelling can help challenge harmful stereotypes and contribute to changing norms about violence. It is important to encourage positive media content about survivors and their resilience and about successful interventions to prevent and respond to violence. At the centre of efforts should be the principle of ‘do no harm’, such as not re-traumatising survivors. For example, Spotlight Initiative programmes in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, and Uganda, among others, have trained journalists to sensitively report on violence and gender equality. In the case of Uganda, this training led to a media group discouraging VAWG through its channels and offering free airtime to have narrative-shifting public conversations about gender and violence. Read more in the case study below.

Mass media plays a critical role in shaping public opinions and raising awareness, creating an enabling environment for changes in structural and social norms. By working with media partners, strategic influencing and campaigning can improve laws, policies and regulatory frameworks on matters relating to gender inequality and VAWG. Relevant policy analysis, research and recommendations can be useful tools to share with journalists in their coverage.

When working with the media, educational entertainment - or edutainment - can be used to tackle complex social issues, norms and behaviours. Research shows that edutainment can play a key role in changing attitudes and behaviours concerning VAWG and can be effective in introducing new positive norms and behaviours. The impact of edutainment programming can be further enhanced by opportunities where communities can come together to watch or listen to the programme, then reflect, discuss and build new skills together. But not all edutainment programming is equally effective and one-off programmes tend to have little impact. Key tips for better results include employing high-quality and evidence-based approaches, ensuring mass reach and popular appeal, and sustaining delivery through several channels over time.

VAWG edutainment has been delivered via a range of platforms, including television, radio, mobile, participatory theatre, and billboards. Some examples of VAWG edutainment include:

• Soul City Television Series in South Africa: Set in the fictional Soul City Township, Soul City mirrors the social, health and development challenges faced by poor communities everywhere, but particularly in South Africa. Over 12 seasons, Soul City tackled some of the pressing issues in the country and the broader region, including mother and child health, HIV/AIDS prevention and care, substance abuse, violence against women and girls, disability access, teen sexual health and rights, financial literacy and active citizenship. To continue raising awareness about the issues raised in the television series, the Soul City Institute brought these discussions to radio, print and social mobilisation mediums as well.
• Breakthrough’s Bell Bajao! Campaign in India: Breakthrough’s campaigns to end domestic violence use popular multimedia message formats, including billboards, music videos, print ads, radio spots, Public Service Announcements (PSAs) and internet channels such as blogs and online video games. In 2008, their Bell Bajao! campaign called on men and boys across India to take a stand against domestic violence by committing to a simple form of bystander invention: ringing the doorbell when they witnessed domestic violence taking place. The campaign’s integrated cultural, organising and media strategy sought to make the issue part of mainstream conversation; increase knowledge about and change community attitudes towards domestic violence and towards HIV-positive women; and alter individual behaviour.
• Spotlight Initiative’s SRHR Quiz App in Uganda: Spotlight Initiative supported the development of a sexual and reproductive health and rights quiz mobile application in Uganda. This edutainment platform entertains young people while simultaneously facilitating the acquisition of appropriate and correct information on otherwise sensitive-to-discuss SRHR and HIV topics.

There is little evidence that awareness-raising activities on their own are able to significantly reduce violent behaviours, although they may start to improve knowledge and attitudes around VAWG. This is especially the case with one-off campaigns whether in print, radio, TV or social media. As a result, to be most effective, it’s important to integrate awareness campaigns into multi-component prevention and response programmes. For example, a series of radio programmes might interview couples that have participated in a prevention programme to reduce intimate partner violence to showcase their stories and the results, and encourage others to engage. Overall, it is important to be clear what awareness-raising campaigns can achieve, as well as mitigate the limitations of this approach. Read more about awareness raising in this useful brief.

When working with media partners, it is important to design and deliver campaigns and edutainment based on contextual insights and the latest evidence, for example:

• Make information accessible: Identify and distil the message of the campaign, and what the audience needs to know, and make sure information shared is simple, bold, clear and accessible. Positive and aspirational messaging is often more appealing than punitive or corrective messaging.
• Tailor campaigns for the intended audience: Identify and consider the target audience for the campaign, the language to use and the tone to speak and communicate to them. Make sure to use the community’s preferred communication channels, where social media messaging can work in one context, radio novellas may be preferred in others.
• Test messaging and ideation: Pre-test messaging among target audiences to ensure information is relevant and understood, and any unintended negative effects are minimised. This can require engagement of diverse and specific groups dependent on the goal of the campaign, such as indigenous groups, marginalised groups, or men and boys.
• Consult and engage women and girls in the design, delivery and feedback on the campaign: Include women and girls from communities at the onset of the campaign, and ensure they have input into the decision-making process.
• Represent and include diverse women and girls: Present strong, empowered and diverse women and girl role models and voices in media coverage. Challenging harmful stereotypes and promoting positive representations of women and girls, as well as men and boys, is fundamental to changing attitudes and behaviours.
• Evaluate and learn from the campaign: Monitor the campaign as it is implemented and gather feedback from the target audience, as well as women and girls, once it has concluded, to consolidate lessons learned for future campaigns.

When working on public-facing campaigns and awareness-raising programmes, it’s important to prepare and ensure the availability of resources for the safe and confidential reporting and disclosure of violence. In many cases, media campaigns may lead to women and girls speaking about their experience of violence for the first time. Prompt referrals and services should be made available and publicised as part of campaigns in line with ethical standards.

Where media work directly involves survivors or covers an incident of violence, it is important to prioritise survivors’ rights to dignity, privacy, confidentiality, safety, security and protection from harm or retribution. Media professionals should consider if and how a story could potentially violate any of these core principles. Learn more about designing a survivor-centred programme.

Online violence and technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV) are potential risks that journalists can encounter, especially when women journalists are vocal about human rights, women’s rights and racism. This can lead to disinformation, intimidation and discreditation of media, as well as serious impacts on the personal health and physical safety of journalists. Newsrooms and media agencies therefore have a responsibility to be aware of TFGBV and its impacts, and should implement policies and best practices to manage safety and raise awareness. For example, journalists can be supported with securing their online data; risks to staff data can be monitored and protected; policies for reporting and escalating cases can be developed; and access to support provided. Some examples of resources are:

• International Women’s Media Foundation has produced a Mental Health Guide for Journalists Facing Online Violence, addressing the culture of silence around online violence and mental health and encouraging users to get long-term practical help.
• The Coalition Against Online Violence Response Hub provides emergency digital security or psychosocial/mental health assistance because of an incident linked to online violence. A complete list of organisations and resources helps users find the support they need, with some services specifically catered to women journalists.
• TrollBusters.com is described as ‘a just-in-time rescue service for women writers and journalists experiencing online harassment’ which helps users assess threats and determine their next steps through personal endorsements, coaching and reputation repair services.