Nelly Bassily | July 26, 2010
Inter Press Service (IPS), with the support of the Dutch MDG3 Fund, has published three handbooks that look at how to report on gender: The Gender and Development Glossary, Gender Relations in Productive and Reproductive Work, and Reporting Gender Based Violence.
The toolkits offer guidelines on how to accurately represent issues related to gender. For example, should we use the word “housewife”? Or is “homemaker” a better term? How can news reports be gender-sensitive? The toolkits help reporters write about gender issues in a way that does not perpetuate stereotypes, but informs and encourages public debate.
The Gender and Development Glossary (third edition) guides writers through the maze of gender-related terms. It presents the meanings of 141 key terms in gender and development, many of them recently updated.
Gender Relations in Productive and Reproductive Work focuses on how journalists and the media portray the unequal conditions faced by women in the work force. It looks at gender stereotypes and how these reinforce gender inequalities.
Reporting Gender Based Violence covers religious and harmful traditional practices, domestic violence, sexual and gender-based violence, femicide, sex work and trafficking, sexual harassment, armed conflicts, HIV and AIDS, child abuse, the role of men, the criminal justice system, and the costs of gender-based violence.
The publications are free of charge and can be downloaded at: http://www.ips.org/mdg3/publications/.