GFMD submits contribution to UN SR report on gender justice

Following an all-network GFMD learning and policy meeting, the Global Forum for Media Development submitted a joint contribution to the UN Special Rapporteur’s call for submissions on “Gender Justice and the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression”. The submission was developed with input from Fondation Hirondelle together with the University of Sheffield and The Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD). As well as this, specific references were made to a submission to the same UN SR call from International Media Support (IMS).

The joint submission calls for a range of issues to be addressed in the Special Rapporteur’s upcoming report on gender justice and the right to freedom of opinion and expression, namely:

1. A lack of research into and understanding of gendered disinformation as a form of gender-based violence;
2. The continued severity of violence against women journalists, both online and offline;
3. The need to recognise sexist hate speech as actual hate speech;
4. Fair representation of women in and through media to encourage public participation;
5. The need for clear guidelines around standards for crimes such as cyber bullying, cyber harassment, and cyber stalking;
6. The role tech platforms can take to combat gender-based harassment and violence.

The submission was developed jointly as a direct product of GFMD’s first ever learning and policy meeting. Any GFMD members interested in participating in future learning and policy meetings, or those who wish to suggest a topic to be covered in a meeting, can get in touch at jhiggins@gfmd.info.

The full joint submission can be found here.