A two-day workshop aimed to train journalists on reporting ‘gender sensitive news’ drew to a close on Wednesday. The workshop concluded that it’s high time journalists and editors changed their ‘stereotypical mindset’ while covering any news that touches upon issues related to gender.

The event, organised by the Press Council Nepal in collaboration with UNESCO, saw the presence of nearly two dozen working journalists, mainly women, who shared their reporting experiences and the gender bias they experienced in their respective newsrooms.

“How sensitive are our media houses towards gender issues while producing news?” questioned Nitu Pandit, former president of Sancharika Samuha, a forum of women journalists and communicators.

She added that issues concerning the LGBTI community—the initialism refers to persons identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersexual—also get the least priority in media coverage.

“Many journalists look at women and gender minorities with a stereotypical lens,” Pandit said. “And they present their stories in a biassed manner.”

Other participants expressed their concern about the words, headlines and illustrations used in news related to women and gender minorities. Also, the ‘risk’ and ‘consequences’ of contents published on social media such as Youtube and mushrooming online media were also discussed widely during the workshop.

“If you look at mainstream media, they have a gatekeeper, and once somebody points out genuine errors on the news they publish, they issue corrections,” said Durga Bhandari, an advocate. “Youtube channels and online media have no such mechanisms and are more likely to victimise women and minority groups.”

The participants also expressed their dismay over the fact that the government still does not have a clear law to regulate new media.

Umesh Chauhan, the Editor of Kantipur daily who was one of the panellists of the workshop, said that the only way to bring about gender sensitivity in reporting is by “accepting and respecting” every individual in the way they exist.

“Regarding gender sensitivity, we have learned many wrong things, and the best way is to ‘unlearn’ and shed off our bias and learn anew,” Chauhan said.

Bipul Pokharel, president of Federation of Nepali Journalists, questioned participant journalists how well they have understood and implemented the notion of equity and equality in their practice.

Balkrishna Basnet, chairperson of Press Council Nepal, stressed that such kinds of workshops and interactions would help make a gender-friendly newsroom and journalism.

“It really matters how you shape your news because journalism is a great platform to start a new discourse and also to make a new law,” said Samiksha Koirala, a gender and media researcher. “Earlier, parents would say to their grown-up daughters to come home before the night falls, but now they are not even safer at home due to increasing online harassment, and abuses through social media.”

A recent research conducted among 281 women journalists by the Media Advocacy Group has revealed that 88.6 percent face online violence in their lifetime. Of the total surveyed, 53 percent have faced violence at the hands of people from their own profession.