Gender-Sensitive Reporting Principles: A Content Analysis of Violence Against Women and Girls in Indonesian Mainstream Newspaper Coverage

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article analyses how Indonesian mainstream newspapers represent violence against women and girls (VAWG) in news coverage. By applying a parameter of gender-sensitive reporting principles, it argues that gender-sensitive media reporting of VAWG requires overcoming imbalance, inaccurate, and biased tendencies. A gender-sensitive approach with several principles insists on revealing the negative societal attitudes to VAWG represented in media coverage. Through content analysis of 692 news coverage of VAWG published by Kompas, The Jakarta Post, and Republika in 2002, 2007, and 2016, this study revealed that the neglect of gender-sensitive principles continues to occur. While the overall percentage was small, some areas of concern remain. There are still some insensitive news articles published in the newspapers incorporated with biased dictions and excessive attributes. More than half of the sample also missing to mention the social roots of gender violence and reminding society of responsibility as well as lacking to provide contact information support for survivors and witnesses. In contrast, the relatively high number of news coverage provided relevant background information and represented a number of high-quality thematic articles that explicitly challenged common myths, stereotypes, and misinformation about VAWG.