Skopje, 4 December 2023 (MIA) — Local media outlets, especially online news portals, do not report on the problem of gender-based violence unless writing about incidents or international days and campaigns, and even then, reports are usually sensationalistic and do not protect the identity of the victims, according to the latest research done by the Institute of Communication Studies.

The research was done as part of a project supported by the United Nations Population Fund. At the presentation of the findings, Marina Tuneva, a media expert, said newsroom capacities needed to be strengthened. "And now with the upcoming elections," Tuneva added, "it is very important to affirm gender equality through reporting."

Sasho Bogdanovski, head of the Human Rights and Media Literacy Department at the state Agency for Audio and Audiovisual Media Services, said an online resource center for gender-sensitive reporting was in the works. The website was being developed together with the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy, he said.

Council of Media Ethics of Macedonia president Leunora Kaliqi said that complaints of unethical reporting submitted to the council in 90 percent of the cases were about online media outlets. mr/