The Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre has condemned comments by a Fiji Times letter writer in the Sunday Times regarding the Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs, Lenora Qereqeretabua and has labeled it as misogynistic, body shaming women and sexist.
The Centre says it is also the height of irresponsibility and shame that the Fiji Times made the decision to publish this especially during 16 Days of Activism Against Violence Against Women and Girls.
They say sexist language is part of the patriarchal system and a culture of misogyny that harms women and if a society accepts and allows sexist language, it is sending a message that it’s okay to demean women; and if it’s okay to demean women, then it’s not too big a leap to see how harassment and verbal abuse might feel okay to some.
The Centre says this is not acceptable, and the Fiji Times must do better, and the media must call it out and hold each other accountable.
The FWCC says as an organisation that represents and works alongside women and other people experiencing violence and inequality, they are calling on the media in this country to take responsibility for the way it reports on and represents women.
They say this conversation is bigger than one misogynistic and sexist letter to the editor in the Fiji Times.
The Centre says it is about headlines blaming survivors and victims for the violence, its disempowering images used in stories about domestic violence that show women cowering in the shadows, it’s articles that lean into racist or discriminatory stereotypes, that sexualize women and girls, that aim to take down women in positions of power, and that minimize violence using sexist jokes, it’s social media content and radio segments that vilify women sharing their stories.
They say journalists, editors, producers, and announcers have the power to choose between driving violence against women or helping to prevent it from happening and instead of making a mockery of women’s bodies, the media could be running stories and using images that amplify women’s voices, that challenge inequality, that model healthy relationships and that show younger generations that they can be better than this.
The Centre adds to ensure that all women are safe and equal in this country, the media must step up and play its part in promoting women’s human rights.
The Fiji Times is yet to comment.
