Study on Journalistic Portrayal of GBV and Domestic Violence by Social Communication Regulatory Authority

Brief Description

The ARC (Social Communication Regulatory Authority) that was established by Law nº8/VIII/2011 on 29 December 2015 is responsible for regulating and supervising entities that carry out communication activities in Cabo Verde. The ARC published in 2018 a study on the journalistic portrayal of GBV and domestic violence, based on the analysis of the Night News of TCV (all broadcast of 2016). Out of the 14 news items analysed (on GBV, as per criteria defined), 5 are focused on the incident (specific case of domestic violence) and 9 are focused on the issue (covering, in addition to the facts, domestic violence as a social, economic and political problem). All the latter included pedagogical information (ex. reference to victim support associations, information of GBV as an ex-officio crime, appeal to the reporting of violence practices, etc.), which is the case with only 1 of the 5 news items focused on the incident. In terms of respect for individual rights (of the victim and presumed perpetrator), 5 news pieces showed images of the victim, 6 mentioned the name of the victim, while 1 showed the image of the presumed perpetrator, and 6 mentioned his name. In 4 of the news items possible justifications for the violent conduct were delivered (ex. jealousy, separation of the couple, new love life of the victim), although this is discouraged by the Manual on Journalistic Good Practices to Combat GBV, 4 considering that it may induce the idea that some motives can justify GBV. The study on GBV is being conducted every year and is reported on through ARC’s annual report, containing a specific section on Media and Gender.