Recommendation
1555 (2002)[1]
The
image of women in the media
1.
The Parliamentary Assembly refers to its Resolution 1018
(1994) on equality of rights between men and women, in which it
recommends that machinery be set up to “promote and supervise respect for
the principle of equality of rights between women and men”, and encourages
the media “to promote equality”.
2.
The Assembly notes that, although progress has visibly been made in several
European countries, women’s image in the media all too frequently remains
a negative one, and continues to be stereotyped and sexist. Women are
associated with the private sphere, the household and family life. The media
frequently present women as sex objects. While the contemporary world has
undergone rapid changes, the image of women in the media has not really
altered.
3.
The Assembly welcomes the fact that certain European governments, women’s
groups and intergovernmental bodies have made progress where the depiction
of women in the media is concerned. The appointment of an ombudsperson
responsible for equality issues to apply national and European Community
legislation constitutes a step towards respect for gender equality.
4.
The Assembly notes with regret that certain European countries have
regressed as far as women’s image in the media is concerned. Following the
world conference in Beijing, little has been done by governments and media
to address the issue.
5.
In certain countries of eastern Europe and in the Commonwealth of
Independent States, the image of women in the media is relatively negative.
The media describe men as reformers, whereas a limited role is attributed to
women. This results from the social and cultural heritage of the countries
concerned. These countries suffer from a lack of democratic experience and
are encountering difficulties in their development process. The images of
women which occur in their media are evidence of the dramatic situation of
women’s rights in these countries. Women’s real problems, like women’s
movements, are ignored.
6.
Certain countries have tried to set up a self-regulation machinery for media
producers, but governments fail to allocate the necessary funds to these
efforts.
7.
The stereotyped image of women is a result of the inadequate training of
journalists and other media managers and the small numbers of women holding
decision-making posts. While the number of female journalists has risen
considerably in the past ten years, there are still few women on media
management bodies, and they are unable significantly to influence the policy
pursued by the media.
8.
The Assembly is concerned about the increasing exposure of children to
sexist messages. The antisocial forces exerted by the repeated sending of
this kind of message are particularly worrying at a time when society is
attempting to curb violence against women.
9.
The Assembly calls on the governments of Council of Europe member states to
adopt and to implement a policy against sexist and stereotyped images and
representations of women in the media. The Assembly invites governments to
set up more bodies to monitor the media and supervise the audiovisual
sector.
10.
The Assembly therefore asks that the governments of member states:
i.
introduce the concept of “sexism”, which is to be defined as negating
the equal dignity of human beings on the grounds of their male or female
gender, into their legislation and condemn it to the same degree as
racism;
ii.
adopt a law on gender equality in the media;
iii.
ask the ombudsperson responsible for issues relating to gender equality to
create direct links between his or her office and the population as a
whole;
iv.
draw a distinction between the situation in the privately-owned and
publicly-owned media;
v.
give media associations the right to complain to the courts in the event
of a violation of human rights;
vi.
finance and start new equality projects in the media;
vii.
encourage, within their national systems, the setting up and financing of
centres to monitor national media, including the new information and
communications technologies;
viii.
encourage advertisers to increase self-regulation through their own system
of professional ethics, in so far as freedom of expression permits;
ix.
use positive discrimination measures or quota systems to guarantee a
balance between women and men at every level of decision making;
x.
encourage women to participate at every level of decision making in the
media and to take posts of responsibility in the technological sector and
on public advisory bodies;
xi.
assign resources and implement programmes to increase women’s access to
communications resources and knowledge, particularly the new
communications technologies;
xii.
make substantial efforts to release the necessary funds for the provision
of equality training for women and men, at schools of journalism,
for example;
xiii.
finance comparative studies with a view to ensuring that policy makers
have a better image of gender equality.
11.
The Assembly recommends that the Committee of Ministers:
i.
draw up international ethical standards based on equality between women
and men;
ii.
help to develop international co-operation with a view to giving priority
to the strengthening of communications networks and of women’s media and
to the principle of gender equality;
iii.
set up an observatory composed of female journalists under the aegis of
the Council of Europe to study the way in which women are portrayed in the
European media and to propose appropriate measures.
1.
Assembly debate on 24 April 2002 (13th Sitting) (see Doc.
9394, report of the Committee on
Equal Opportunities for Women and Men, rapporteur:
Mrs López González).
Text adopted by the Assembly on
24 April 2002 (13th Sitting).
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