SRHR Africa Trust has called for informed, ethical and gender responsive media reportage that is notes is indispensable to reshaping societal norms and championing the inviolable rights and inherent dignity of women and children within communities.
SRHR Africa Trust SAT Country Director Lenganji Nanyangwe has applauded the Zambian government for continually demonstrating unwavering commitment to upholding progressive and transformative legislation, notably the Children’s Code Act number 12 of 2024 and the Marriage Amendment Act number 13 of 2023.
“These laws are now in full force representing comprehensive reforms to protect children’s rights, decisively eliminate harmful practices such as child marriage and sexual exploitation, and enshrine principles of equality, consent, and respect within marriage”. She expressed.
She was speaking at a two days media workshop aimed at tackling sexual gender based violence.
Ms. Nanyangwe said the workshop aims at deepening the understanding of these pieces of legislation among media professionals and indeed societies, to empower media to effectively disseminate and communicate the provisions of these laws, highlighting their profound significance in the collective fight to end sexual and gender-based violence.
“Within this landscape, the media assumes a transformative mantle by framing narratives that reflect the lived experiences of victims and survivors, amplifying calls for justice and adhering unwaveringly to ethical standards. The media wields formidable power to influence public perceptions, advocates for the enforcement of policy, and indeed hold perpetrators to account”. She observed.
She added that SAT looks forward to a Zambia where every child and woman will flourish free from the scourge of violence, discrimination and indeed exploitation.
And UNFPA Deputy Represenatative Anna Holmestrom says the training is a long-term plan that they have had as a collective to create a common vision and a common roadmap for making further progress in ending child marriage in Zambia.
She states that the first role of the media is around ensuring that at community level the media plays a role in portraying girls affected by child marriage not as
humans that don’t have agency or as victims but as individuals who have agency, who have self-efficacy.
“we see that the media has a key role in ensuring that girls know where to access help when affected by violence and a key thing that we want to ensure that everyone knows about is at the very minimum the National Child Helpline which is accessible through 116 and 933 and that’s a service that also the World Council of Churches has made into a key priority that every faith leader should know about the existence of these helplines so that everyone together ensures that girls have access to help when affected by a risk of child marriage or other forms of violence”. She revealed.
Ms. Holmstrom says the second domain of change which can help transform the agenda around child marriage but also around adolescent pregnancies is highlighting positive norms and highlighting positive role models throughout the nation of Zambia with a view of changing the narrative around the acceptance of issues related to not only child marriage but also things like age-dispair and transactional sex.
She added that the third big piece that media has a role in is holding each other and holding duty bearers accountable. And this role is a twin-pronged approach of where there’s inaction, calling for action, but also congratulating where progress has been made.
