Tag Archive for: Media violence

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Acclamation in the Public Defender’s Office continues: new Provisional Director

The last week of September, the Bicameral Commission for the Promotion and Monitoring of Audiovisual Communication, presided over by Senator Eduardo Costa (UCR), unexpectedly decided on the provisional appointment of a new Public Defender: Eduardo Jesús Alonso.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”

The decision to appoint a Provisional Defender was agreed by the ruling party with ignorance of the opposition. The Commission meeting was convened to deal with the anomalous situation that the Public Defender suffers and to be able to analyze the appointment process. The designation itself was not part of the agenda. The surprise then, was the designation of Alonso, whom the majority of the Commission did not know: neither his name, nor his career, nor his curriculum, nor the reasons why he proposes him as Provisional Defender.

Finally, as the designation did not take place, the deputies of all the blocks agreed on the appointment of Alonso, which will remain in force until the titular Defender is appointed, within a period of 60 days. It should be noted that since the Chair of the Commission it was clarified that the provisional designation is intended to fulfill the operational and administrative functions of the Public Defender’s Office and can not take any resolution of an institutional nature.

For now, the only thing that is known about the new Public Defender is that he is a young lawyer of 32 years who, with the assumption of the new management in 2015, went to work in the General Secretariat of the Presidency.
The Public Defender’s Office for Audiovisual Communication has been unaccompanied since November 14, 2016 when, before the end of the mandate of Lic. Cynthia Ottaviano, the Bicameral Commission of the Congress decided not to appoint a new defender or renew the mandate of the outgoing defender. From that moment, the lawyer María José Guembe, Director of Protection of Rights of the Ombudsman, was an interim reference.

The institution of the Public Defender’s Office is essential because it acts as an intermediary between the communication actors and the public, representing the interests and rights of the audiences. In recent weeks, we have carried out a report of media violence against the entity. From the Public Defender’s Office, they informed us that they have problems to respond to the procedures and claims and clarify that “The delay is due to the Bicameral Commission of promotion and monitoring of audiovisual communication, telecommunications technologies and digitalization of the which depends on this body, has decided to appoint a new person in charge of the Public Defender’s Office until the situation of acefalía is regularized and a new Public Defender is elected. ”

In this way, the continuity of this acclamation since 3 years ago, is a violation of the citizenship since their rights can not be fully enforced without the full action of this body. Until a new Public Defender is selected and appointed, the rights of the audiences remain at risk.

Writer:  Emilia Pioletti

Contact:

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Repeated figurine: Complaint against Baby Etchecopar for media violence

The sexist and discriminatory comments of Baby Etchecopar said in its radio program “The Angel of the Midday” on Radio 10, generated a great repudiation of social movements and women, from which several complaints were filed, including a criminal violate the national law 23.592 that penalizes discriminatory acts. The regulation imposes a penalty of imprisonment of one to three years to those who make propaganda based on ideals or theories of superiority of a group of people.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”

In virtue of the acts of Mediaeval and Symbolic Violence against women generated by the comments of Etchecopar, from the FUNDEPS Gender Team we filed a complaint with the National Communications Agency (ENACOM), in repudiation for the dissemination of these messages that promote discrimination against women, legitimizing inequality of treatment and reproducing sociocultural patterns of inequality and generators of violence against women.

The misogynistic sayings that motivated our denunciation took place on September 10 as part of a telephone discussion with Silvia Ponce, leader of the Evita movement, who was in a social protest against the adjustment and economic policies of the Mauricio Macri government.

In this context, the radio operator asked her if she was a beneficiary of a social plan, to which she replied that she did. So he asked her if she worked. When Silvia answered affirmatively again and said that she worked every day at home, Mr. Baby Etchecopar interrupted her saying: “No no, but not at home. You answer me what I ask you because cassette no. Do you work or do not you work? ”

We consider that such an expression is totally discriminatory, sexist and that it makes the work of women invisible, since domestic activity is work, even if it is not remunerated. In fact, it is one of the main causes of inequality between men and women.

According to INDEC data, 9 out of 10 women dedicate part of their day to this type of tasks, which includes the care and maintenance of the home. Also, 76% of unpaid domestic jobs in Argentina are performed by women. Even those who work full time dedicate more time in their life to these activities than men who are unemployed. This fact implies less leisure time for women, training and professional development. Which translates into lower income, more precarious work and the so-called “glass ceiling” that prevents us from accessing the hierarchical positions of power.

Lastly, after taking Leader Silvia Ponce out of the air, Baby Etchecopar said: “I have six children. Who sends you to fuck, boluda? Stop fucking. ” We repudiate such expression not only by the level of aggression, but by setting a clear example of gender violence: and according to the Law of Integral Protection of Women 26,485, as media violence, understood as “all publication or dissemination of messages and images stereotyped through any mass media, that directly or indirectly promotes the exploitation of women, insults, defames, discriminates, dishonors, humiliates or threatens the dignity of women and legitimizes the inequality of treatment or builds socio-cultural reproductive patterns of the inequality or generators of violence against women “.

Baby Etchecopar with his sayings endorses and replicates the models of domination and protection over the woman’s body.

For these same facts that generated our complaint is that the Criminal Prosecutor, Contravencional and Faltas 18, specialized in Gender Violence of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, in charge of Federico Villalba Díaz interim, decided to impute it for discrimination in the context of violence of gender.

The prosecution requested the intervention of the Ombudsman’s Office and the National Institute against Discrimination, Xenophobia and Racism (INADI). In turn, the National Communications Agency (ENACOM) also initiated a summary against Etchecopar to determine if Law 26,522 was violated, which seeks to prevent gender violence and protect the most vulnerable audiences.

The media has an undeniable responsibility in the construction of citizenship, since they are not only opinion makers, but also endorse and legitimize practices of society. We welcome the intervention of these institutions in this case and we continue to demand full compliance with and respect for the laws that protect women in order to continue building a more egalitarian society.

Author:

Valentina Montero

Contact:

Virginia Pedraza

vir.pedraza@gmail.com

Available?: Complaint to Arriba Córdoba on Channel 12 for media violence

On September 19 during the transmission of Arriba Córdoba, the morning news channel of Canal 12 in Córdoba, its driver, Jorge Cuadrado, showed on screen a picture of the actress and singer Jimena Barón, entitled “Jimena Barón, again available.” The treatment of the theme, in a jocular tone and clearly reifying of the woman, results repudiable.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

“Available”, according to the RAE means: 1. Adj. Said of one thing: That it can be freely available or that it is ready to be used or used.3. Adj. Said of a person: Free from impediment to provide services to someone. In this way, they place a woman as a thing that can be freely disposed of, is ready to be used, and is free from impediment to provide services. Since the term “available” was used to refer to the fact that she is single and since Jimena is heterosexual, it is clear that the subject who can “dispose” is a man.

We consider that it is a clear case of Mediaeval Violence and Symbolic Violence in accordance with the definitions Law 26,485 of Comprehensive Protection to Prevent, Punish and Eradicate Violence against Women, and which are also contemplated in Law 26,522 on Audiovisual Communication Services. It also violates and transgresses all guidelines stipulated in the different Guidelines for the Journalistic Treatment Responsible for Violence against Women cases. Therefore, on September 20, we made the corresponding complaint to the Observatory of Symbolic and Mediatic Violence of INAM (National Institute for Women).

It has not yet responded to our complaint, so it is worrying in relation to the commitments made by the INAM regarding the approach to media violence presented in the National Plan of Action for the Prevention, Assistance and Eradication of Violence Against Women.

We continue asking that the media engage in the promotion and respect of equality, avoiding content that reproduces forms of media violence against women, respecting their integrity and their rights at all times. Their role in the construction of meaning is fundamental and they must comply with the laws and avoid practices that promote discrimination, reification and stereotyping of women.

In a context of changing times and advances to dismantle discriminatory structures based on gender, journalistic treatments of this kind do nothing but subtract in the necessary social evolution and contribute to reinforcing violent patriarchal orderings.

Likewise, we urge all public entities to receive complaints for media violence, to fulfill their institutional role of being at the service of citizens, to respond to such cases in a timely manner, and to seriously commit themselves to this struggle.

Author
Emilia Pioletti

Contact

Virginia Pedraza, vir.pedraza@fundeps.org

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In the interior of Córdoba there is also talk of communication

From September 3 to 5, the XXth Congress of REDCOM and the First Latin American Communication Congress of the UNVM took place at the National University of Villa María. “Communications, powers and technologies: from local territories to global territories”. From FUNDEPS we present a paper giving an account of the data obtained in our research on the participation of women in the media in their areas of work.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

The 20th REDCOM Congress is a space built to integrate the Latin American perspective into academic, social and political debates on communication, promote the dialogue of the different spaces in the construction of the human right to communication, and deepen each dimension thematic through the diversification of means for their expression, among others.

In this framework, we present the results obtained in the research carried out together with the Civil Association Communication for Equality, “Media and gender organizations: Equality of opportunities for women and LGTTBIQ + people in companies, unions and universities.” The main objective of this report was to investigate access to equal opportunities for women and the LGTTBIQ + community in the work environments of the media.

Inequalities in access to employment opportunities, from a gender perspective, have multiple causes, and require the implementation of social, cultural and political change mechanisms for their real prevention and eradication.

But in certain areas, inequality also has other consequences, such as in the field of communication. If we understand the media as opinion and socio-cultural values ​​educators, the lack or little representation of the various groups of our society, also leads to such unequal representation is reflected in the media content, reproducing the same values ​​that give place to discrimination.

In this sense, in order to achieve a real and democratic representation of the voices of the whole society in the media (recognizing them as agents of opinion) it is necessary to begin to combat inequalities in access to job opportunities and professional development of all people, with a focus on women, the LGBTTIQ + community, and on historically violated groups. We celebrate the space granted by UNVM and REDCOM, to the academic community and to civil society organizations, to discuss and make visible the needs of building communication in our country from an inclusive perspective, gender and human rights.-

Contact

Virginia Pedraza

vir.pedraza@fundeps.org

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Gender, media companies and unions: Where are we and where are we going?

After a year of research work between FUNDEPS and Comunicar Igualdad, with the collaboration of the Fundación Heinrich Böll, we present in Córdoba and Buenos Aires the partial results obtained on the participation of women and LGTBI people in media companies, universities and unions. The figures warn of their scarce participation in these sectors and the need to transform the rigid union and business structures that hinder their access and permanence.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

Within the framework of some intense weeks in which the women’s movement filled the streets with color and raised its voice claiming rights for so long postponed, on Friday, June 8 we presented in the Faculty of Communication Sciences some conclusions that make visible the permanence of gender violence within one of the most relevant areas in terms of their social role: media companies.

In this instance, the specialists Pate Palero (journalist, member of the PAR Network), Silvana Zanelli (journalist and trade unionist CISPREN), Sandra Chaher (journalist and Communication Director for Equality), Rossana Rodriguez (SATSAID union member Cordoba) joined. , Paula Morales (teacher and researcher specializing in gender and communication), Analía Barrionuevo (director of the Gender Program of the UNC) and Virginia Pedraza (lawyer and coordinator of the gender team of FUNDEPS).

During the talk, the current situation of women and people in the LGTBI community was discussed in terms of access to equal professional opportunities in the media, and the obstacles they face in accessing the positions of decision making and management positions. Possible actions were also proposed to reverse the situation of inequality from different spaces such as media companies, unions and educational institutions related to communication and the measures that the State can take to address the problem.

Some of these points were presented as results of our research in order to visualize the most problematic axes and to put them in discussion during the day.

Glass ceiling: women who do not have access to hierarchical positions

“(…) In the first 1,500 companies listed on Wall Street, there are more directors called John, Robert, William or James than female directors.” (D’Alessandro, 2017, p.101).

The scarcity of women in decision-making positions within companies is a feature that can be seen in many of the Latin American companies: only 4.2% hold executive positions and 8.5% board meetings, while the In most of the countries in the region, women participate in almost 30% in management positions. The media companies of our country do not escape this trend.

Of the 30 media companies analyzed in Buenos Aires and Córdoba, women participate in 27.72% of the property and managerial positions. However, this percentage becomes more unfavorable in the case of Córdoba: only 12% of women occupy these positions.

The panorama of the unions reflects figures of equal concern. In Córdoba, trade union leaderships that include media workers are occupied by 17.79%. Numbers worrying if we consider that, in 2016, women graduates of journalistic careers constituted 69.04%, but currently they only make up 23.29% of the media workers analyzed in the city of Córdoba.

As for transgender people, it was revealed that only one works in the media, which demonstrates the structural problems that cross this group and make it one of the most vulnerable, marginalized and precarious. Trans people are the most affected because they have greater structural impediments that make it difficult for them to obtain a decent job and complete their studies. In some media, there are policies to include diversity for people with disabilities, but not for trans people.

On the other hand, the institutes of journalistic formation showed their shortcomings in terms of specific and obligatory subjects on gender and of curricula that contemplate the gender perspective as a transversal axis to all the contents.

Why are there no more women in the hierarchical positions of media companies or unions? What barriers make up this glass ceiling that hinders women’s access to these positions?

One of the shortcomings detected within the analyzed media companies is the lack of a gender perspective and measures to guarantee equal opportunities, as well as their translation into institutionalized and sustainable policies that are capable of transforming labor structures. . This leads to the invisibility and reproduction of violence, especially the symbolic violence that is the one that silently and latent crosses the daily practices within the media companies.

These violence are made palpable in practices such as the selection and promotion of personnel. The lack of training in the areas of Human Resources perpetuates naturalized violence, making entry difficult, but particularly the rise of women to positions of hierarchy. In this framework, lobbying (carried out among those who already occupy hierarchical positions, most of them male) and the lack of clear promotion criteria are some of the most important factors when selecting personnel for decision-making positions.

Another barrier that makes up this glass ceiling is the sexual division of labor and its reproduction within the media and union companies. Thus, women occupy feminized positions or deal with “soft” issues, linked to the tasks of care and care (and frivolity) with which they have been associated. We speak of women personal secretaries, producers, in Human Resources and Institutional Relations, in the editorial offices of areas such as health, spectacles and gender, in the Ministries of Culture, Communication and Gender. This type of tasks and topics are considered of lower rank compared to those in which males predominate.

This makes it difficult for women to access others that allow them to gain experience and advance, even to those who have a professional training superior to that of their male peers. In this way, the glass ceiling and the sexual division of work impose gender roles, stereotypes and prejudices that are internalized by women generating a vicious circle that affects their confidence, self-esteem and personal initiative that demotivates and reduces the possibility of doing career within these companies.

This is possible because women are the most important and great supporters of a system and a labor market with a patriarchal matrix that forces them to relegate their professional careers to a second level in order to dedicate themselves to other unpaid work: that of the home. The women who are mothers and in whom they relay the tasks of care, demand greater flexibility through extended licenses, practices like the flex time or home office and the reduction of hours that, in some cases, implies a salary reduction and job insecurity. The result: Few women enter competitions in media companies or are part of lists in the unions to access higher positions, have fewer possibilities than men, and stay, at best, in the middle managers or in devalued positions, having lower salaries than men.

Inequality of gender and possibilities of transformation

The data obtained from this research demonstrate the persistence of structural gender inequalities that are reproduced within media companies and unions. However, these spaces revealed, for the most part, a clear interest in reversing this situation. Now the question is: how to achieve more egalitarian work spaces and union activism? How to mainstream the gender perspective in media companies, unions and journalism training institutes?

There are structural problems that the State has to counter. However, it is important that there is an articulation and commitment between different areas. In the first place, it is necessary to have effective public policies with a gender perspective that address and counteract structural gender inequalities.

Second, proactive policies on the part of media companies that imply the incorporation of a gender perspective that can be institutionalized are required. That is to say, that gender offices are created from where mechanisms to denounce cases of gender violence are implemented, which make the problem visible and give it a corresponding treatment.

Third, internal training in gender issues acquires importance, which involves not only trade unions and media companies, but also educational institutions dedicated to the training of communication professionals. These institutions have the role of training professionals who will then construct and communicate interpretations of realities. Great advances have been made in education regarding the incorporation of gender issues. However, in the case of Córdoba, although work is being done, the creation of curricula with a gender perspective and compulsory subjects that deal with the subject in a timely manner is still pending.

Finally, the Cordovan unions must enhance their role as spokespersons for the media companies, focusing on the pressures they have to make towards these companies, in terms of offering training and protecting those and those they represent, in order to guarantee rights and promote measures that exceed those already in place. For this to be a reality, it is necessary that these spaces also break with their own internal machista structures

In short, the greater presence of women and trans people in media companies and unions means that public policies aimed at achieving gender equity, representation and diversification and democratization of voices, equal opportunities, are also implemented. the transformation in the sexist logic involved in the selection of personnel and in the labor market itself, and the (de) construction of friendly and egalitarian work spaces that eliminate the reproduction of gender violence and the sexual division of labor.

Bibliography and links:

To see the full video of the Conversation on equal opportunities in media: https://www.facebook.com/FUNDEPS/videos/1791850930878652/

Author

María Cecilia Bustos Moreschi

Contacto:

Virginia Pedraza – vir.pedraza@fundeps.org

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Gender Violence and Public Communication Policies in Argentina: Advances and Setbacks until 2017

The Foundation for the Development of Sustainable Policies (FUNDEPS) and the Civil Association Communication for Equality present a report on the functioning of public policies on gender and communication, from the assumption of the current national government.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

At the beginning of 2016, from the Foundation for the Development of Sustainable Policies and the Civil Association Communication for Equality, a report called “Violence against women and public communication policies” was produced, which gives an account of the state of public policies on communication and gender in Argentina and the state bodies that, until the end of 2015, were in charge of implementing them. That report was based on an extensive investigation that gathered data through formal requests, formulated in the exercise of the right to access information; complaints to the corresponding bodies in cases of media and symbolic violence and interviews with members of these bodies and civil society organizations.

In 2018, we made a report on the application of such policies from the assumption of the current national government. In it, the main changes evidenced in the last two years are analyzed, based on the information obtained through new requests for information formulated before the corresponding bodies during the year 2017 and through interviews and information search through the official channels of each dependency.

The bodies studied are: ENACOM, Public Defender, INAM, INADI, Observatory of Discrimination in Radio and TV, Office of Monitoring of Publication of Notices of Sexual Commerce.

The measures and public policies implemented by these organizations had modifications. Although some that can be considered advances, many others weaken the achievements made in the protection of the audiences, mainly of the vulnerable sectors; both from a gender perspective and from the right to communication as a human right.

The analysis carried out aims to account for the transformations in the field of communication, specifically in relation to gender issues, during the last two years and since the change in government management in December 2015. In line with the changes that followed public communication policies from then on, the specific areas linked to gender also underwent transformations that, although not yet completely defined, imply for several of the agencies a brake on the programs that were carried out and, after two years after the start of the new administration, it is not clear yet what will be the future direction of the public communication and gender policies that were developed in Argentina as of 2010.

Main conclusions

  • Although the decrees and resolutions that have affected Law 26,522 on Audiovisual Communication Services do not directly operate on gender policies, the actions of several of the State agencies dedicated to the implementation of these policies have undergone modifications. Some of them represent advances, but others weaken the achievements made in the protection of the audiences.
  • The defiance of the Ombudsman’s Office -one of the relevant bodies in the application of communication and gender policies, and with international recognition- is one of the negative aspects of the paradigm that we call “transition” in current communication and gender policies from Argentina. In spite of this accretion, the organism continues to operate successfully within the permitted margins.
  • We also negatively evaluate the lack of access to information by ENACOM, which accounts for the obstacles existing for the purposes of monitoring the actions of state bodies by citizens. However, we value the action of the same -evaluated through indirect mechanisms- which is revealed in an increase in resolutions and in the consideration of the rights of women and the LGTBI community as autonomous causes of violation of rights.
  • There seems to be a transformation in the functions of the Office of Monitoring of Sexual Offer Notices that would cease to exercise its sanctioning capacity and focusing its actions only on digital media and assistance to the Judicial Power.
  • The Observatory for Discrimination in Radio and Television was dissolved informally, a tripartite body with an outstanding performance during the last 10 years; neither is it possible to access the pedagogical heritage generated by it.
  • The Observatory of Symbolic and Mediatic Violence was created within the scope of INAM, with competence in all types of media.
  • INAM expanded its action in communication policies through the National Plan of Action against Violence with policies that have not yet been delivered in a measurable manner.
  • The draft laws of convergent communications from different political sectors have included almost nil considerations of gender, although they have had a relative receptivity towards the proposals that have been sent to them from civil society.

More information

Contacto

Virginia Pedraza – vir.pedraza@fundeps.org

Sandra Chaher – sandrachaher@comunicarigualdad.com.ar

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Gender violence and public communication policies in Argentina: advances and setbacks until 2017

Together with the Civil Association Communication for Equality we present a report on the functioning of public policies on gender and communication, from the assumption of the current national government.

Descargar Documento / Download File
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Presentation of report on media violence against women before CSW

The CSW is a body under the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations (UN), which began its functions in 1946 as the “main international intergovernmental body dedicated exclusively to the promotion of gender equality and empowerment of the woman”.

It meets annually, and in this event are the UN member states, civil society organizations and bodies of the UN Human Rights System. In this space, the actions of States to meet the commitments made at the 1995 Beijing World Conference on Women, its Declaration and Platform for Action, and the 23rd Special Session of the General Assembly in 2000 (Beijing +5). It also addresses relevant issues on the situation of women worldwide

From these sessions, the discussions and agreements that arise and the reports presented, the CSW generates conclusions and recommendations, which are then sent to the Economic and Social Council for follow-up.

The review theme for the 62nd session of the CSW, to be held in March 2018, focuses on “Participation and access of women to the media and information and communication technologies, as well as their impact and Use as an instrument for the advancement and empowerment of women”

Our Report

More than three years ago, along with Communicating Equality, we have monitored the organs of the State that must apply the protective norms of women in the media.

Our first research was crystallized in the publication “Gender Violence and Public Communication Policies“. Subsequently, policies related to gender and communication suffered regressive measures, which, far from improving what has already been achieved, have regressed in the role of guarantor of State rights.

In the report that we presented to the CSW, such measures were presented, as well as recommendations to achieve greater protection for women and the hearings of Argentina.

Among the regressive measures mentioned in the report are:

– Public Defender: Despite the efficient and participative management of the organization, this has been interrupted since November last year, when the Bicameral Commission, which should appoint the maximum authority of the Ombudsman’s Office, decided not to appoint anyone at the end of the term Of the first Public Defender, Lic. Cyntia Ottaviano. At present, the DPSCA is in an irregular situation and without capacity to carry out activities that go beyond mere formal and administrative communications. This limits the taking of comprehensive measures in cases of media violence based on gender or any other. This situation further aggravates Argentina’s failure to comply with the recommendations made by the CEDAW Committee in its Concluding Observations on the seventh periodic report of Argentina in 20167, especially paragraph 19, item “d”, in which Urges that “Law 26,522 of 10 October 2009 on Audiovisual Communication Services be amended in order to empower the Ombudsman to punish violations of provisions relating to gender stereotypes and sexism in the media Communication”.

– ENACOM: Since the dictates of the Decrees of Necessity and Urgency No. 13/2015, 236/2015 and 267/2015, a new body was created, ENACOM, which displaced the AFSCA, being the same subsumed in that body, Along with their faculties and functions. In flagrant violation of international commitments, and by taking regressive actions regarding the protection of the rights of the hearings, the law was ignored, and the protective scaffold created was dismantled.

These actions by the new government overlapped with the decrease in the budget of ENACOM, and a worrying uncertainty about how the new public regulatory policy for the media will become available. As of the end of 2015, there were no sanctions regarding violent content issued in the media, nor any formal response to requests for information made by civil society organizations in this regard.

– Observatory on Discrimination in Radio and Television: The Observatory as a tripartite body was dissolved in 2017, although apparently did not carry out its usual functions since January 2016, adding to the widespread disruption of public policies protecting gender and communication.

– National Women’s Council: Since 2016, the National Council of Women has taken a more active role in dealing with cases of symbolic and media violence and in early 2017 the Observatory for Symbolic and Media Violence – A bipartite body composed of the National Council of Women and the National Entity for Communications (ENACOM). So far in 2017, the Observatory intervened in 17 cases of media violence ex officio or at the request of whistleblowers. The intervention in most of them was carrying out a report of analysis of the situation discriminating and stigmatizing and sending the same to the mass media.

– Monitoring Office for Publication of Sexual Trade Offer Notices: Since its creation in 2011, until December 2015, OM has achieved that 85% of the media monitored (110 of the entire national territory, with national coverage, Regional and local) to comply with the current legislation, leaving notices of sexual offer with expressions degrading and discriminatory towards women by all media surveyed. He also conducted trainings and conferences throughout the country to raise awareness of media violence through specific media support and collaborated with the judiciary by providing data on individuals and networks that publish notices on trafficking in persons for Sexual exploitation.

Since December 2015, he has not published any reports on his actions.

Contact

Virginia Pedraza – vir.pedraza@fundeps.org

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Seven months and counting of acephaly for the Public Defender’s Office

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”

The Office of the Public Defender, the agency responsible for receiving complaints from active hearings in cases of rights violations, has previously received international awards. Among them, is the one granted by the Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the OAS. On this occasion, he was awarded the “Inter-American Award for Innovation for Effective Public Management”. This award

“…is an initiative of the Department for Effective Public Management of the OAS, whose main objective is to recognize, encourage, systematize and promote the innovations in public management that are being carried out in the region with the purpose of contributing to institutions Increasingly transparent, effective and have mechanisms for citizen participation.”

The institution was one of the main actors in public policy mapping to protect women against symbolic and media violence, in addition to protecting the general public. Through complaints, or acting on their own initiative, they issued opinions against content that exercised media violence and carried out activities, such as meetings and training, or instances of mediation, with the producers of said contents in order to raise awareness and give guidelines for producing content Not sexist.

However, this efficient and participative management of the organization has been interrupted since November last year when the Bicameral Commission, which should appoint the maximum authority of the Ombudsman’s Office, decided not to appoint anyone at the end of the mandate of Ms. Cyntia Ottaviano . As we mentioned in previous notes, the agency is still in an irregular situation and unable to carry out activities that go beyond mere formal and administrative communications. This limits that measures are taken in cases of media violence for reasons of gender or any other, and it does not allow the Ombudsman to make pronouncements on the quality of the contents denounced.

There is still no certainty about what will happen to the Ombudsman. In this context, it is important to remember that CEDAW, in its concluding observations to Argentina, recommended:

“To amend Act No. 26.522 (2009) on audiovisual media services, in order to provide the Public Defender with the power to sanction violations of provisions to regulate gender stereotypes and sexism in the media.”

In this sense, the institutional situation is detrimental to what is recommended according to international standards.

More information

– The OAS will distinguish the Ombudsman’s task for the promotion of gender equity | Defensoría del Público

– Worrying situation of the Public Defender’s Office | FUNDEPS

Contact

Carolina Tamagnini – carotamagnini@fundeps.org

Worrying situation of the Public Defender’s Office

Three months ago the Office of the Public Defender is out of town, a circumstance that leaves the agency unable to fully carry out the functions assigned in the current Audiovisual Communication Services Act. This situation runs counter to the recommendations of the CEDAW Committee and aggravates the situation of vulnerability of the rights of the hearings.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”

The Office of the Public Defender of Audiovisual Communication, which was created together with the Audiovisual Communication Services Law, is an organization that promotes, diffuses and defends the right to democratic communication in the media.

As we have previously reported, this dependency of the State has been in place since November 14 of last year when, upon the expiration of the term of Lic. Cynthia Ottaviano, the Congressional Bicameral Commission decided not to appoint a new defender / Nor to renew the mandate of the outgoing defender. To date, the agency has filed a petition for the attorney María José Guembe, Director of Protection of Rights of the Ombudsman, to be the highest authority in this transitional stage. In the same way and given that the role of Guembe does not enjoy all the faculties, the organism remains acephalous, and therefore, lacking in operability.

The institution of the Public Defender’s Office is fundamental because it acts as an intermediary between the communication and public actors, representing the interests and rights of the audiences. In this way, acephaly violates citizenship and their rights can not be fully enforced without the full action of this body. This situation has already lasted for almost 3 months, but continues to work, receiving and channeling claims.

Complaints made from FUNDEPS

During 2016, from FUNDEPS, we made several complaints to the organization, highlighting those made to the TV channel TYC Sports and the program “Majul 910” by Radio AM 910.

In December of last year, we received a telephone notification about the status of the claim made by an institutional advertisement of the TV channel TyC Sports, in the month of September. In such advertising, a conversation is shown between a heterosexual couple, reproducing stereotypes of the sexual division of labor, as well as of power relations within couples. In response to this claim, the Ombudsman acknowledged and mentioned the stereotypes that reproduce the media and highlighted the positive aspects of the audiences by expressing their agreement with the constructed messages. For this complaint, a communication was made to the television channel, which was not answered. We received a formal written response in which it is mentioned that:

“In its report on the piece, the Directorate of Analysis, Investigation and Monitoring of this Ombudsman said that” it receives the comments expressed in the consultation as an indication of the legitimate disagreement of the hearings with the uncritical reiteration of stereotypical representations that, moreover, do not Correspond to the current social diversity in terms of family compositions and role assignment within families”

Due to the serious situation that the organism is undergoing, it was not possible to take other measures. In addition, in November of last year we made a complaint about the radio program “Majul 910” in Radio La Red AM 910 in which, under the supposedly “humorous” language, reproduce stereotypes and apologies to gender violence.

In this case, the Ombudsman also acknowledged the legitimacy of the complaint and reported that the company RED CELESTE Y BLANCA SA, owner of LR5 Radio La Red AM 910 responded to the complaint:

“… the comments made by comedian Claudio Rico have been made exclusively with animus iocandi and that he never had the objective of offending women or carrying forward a stereotype of beauty that is offensive and oppressive for women. Has been the goal of ‘LA RED’ to spread a message of media violence as stated in the presentation”

Finally, the Radio expresses: “In this sense … we take due note of it and proceed to communicate the terms of the same to the drivers, participants and producers of the”Majul 910″ Program”.

Since they can not take any further measures or issue their opinions on the quality of the contents, the complaints made to the Public Defender’s Office have lost strength and legitimacy and are left to the will of the denounced media.

In this context of great uncertainty, it is important to remember that, in its concluding observations to Argentina, CEDAW recommended “Amend Act No. 26.522 (2009) on audiovisual media services in order to provide the Public Defender with the power to Sanction violations of provisions to regulate gender stereotypes and sexism in the media. ” Faced with this, the institutional situation of the Public Defender’s Office is even more serious. The international recommendations are aimed at giving more powers to the body, which is currently limited to its functioning, a limitation that is constituted as a regressive situation that diminishes the level of protection of women against symbolic and media violence, and of audiences in general.

The reproduction of gender stereotypes in the media is a form of mediatic and symbolic violence, in accordance with the definitions of Law 26.485 of Comprehensive Protection to Prevent, Punish, and Eradicate Violence against Women, which are also contemplated in the Law 26,522 of Individual Communication Services. Agencies such as the Public Defender’s Office are fundamental to ensure the production of content and programming in media that do not foster a culture of discrimination and violence. Given the gravity of the case, we again express our concern about the violation of the rights of the hearings and demand that the situation be rectified shortly.

More information

Contact

Carolina Tamagnini – carotamagnini@fundeps.org

Emiilia Pioletti – emiliapioletti@fundeps.org

The “Majul 910” program and its jokes about sexual abuse

En el programa “Majul 910” que se emite por Radio La Red, en el día martes 18 de octubre, un día antes de la marcha y paro realizados en toda Argentina tras el femicidio de Lucía Pérez, y bajo el lema #MiércolesNegro, un humorista realizó una cadena de chistes atravesados por un estereotipo de belleza que resultan ofensivos y opresivos para las mujeres.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”

After comments like “(…) look Majul, my wife is so ugly that she had to make a representation of Beauty and the Beast and Bella made a guy,” he concluded: “My wife is so ugly that they grabbed her Some rapists and, in the dark, dressed, “he quipped as journalists celebrated the commentary, and the art of radio along with jocular sounds and background reporters.

This treatment of information violates the provisions of Law 26.485 on Comprehensive Protection to Prevent, Punish and Eradicate Violence against Women and Law 26.522 on Audiovisual Communication Services, which stipulates that programming must avoid elements that promote acts Discriminatory and violent towards women. It should be remembered that according to the Argentine Criminal Code, the act of sexually violating a person is typified in article 119 and constitutes a crime proper.

This type of content diffused in the media constitute forms of mistreatment and symbolic violence, in which imaginary and reproducing cultural mandates are forms of oppression and domination towards women.

For this reason, it has filed a complaint with the Public Defender’s Office for Audiovisual Communication Services and ENACOM (eg AFSCA), which are bound by the rights of the audiences.

The joker, allegedly innocent, satirizes a crime against sexual integrity based on non-compliance with a mandate: beauty. It is unacceptable to reproduce these words in any medium of communication, especially in this tragic social context towards women, evidenced by the acts of violence and femicides seen in recent years.

We continue to demand that the media commit themselves to promoting and respecting equality, avoiding content that reproduces forms of media violence against women, while respecting their integrity and their rights. These sayings are extremely dangerous and their mere existence is unacceptable. Violence towards women is, above all, a human rights issue, where the media have a huge task to do.

Lastly, there is concern about the lack of formal pronouncement by the Office of the Public Defender and of ENACOM, after more than two months of the corresponding complaints. From FUNDEPS we continue with the monitoring of the open processes, in order to continue with the monitoring of the functioning of these bodies.

More information

Contact

Emilia Pioletti – emiliapioletti@fundeps.org

Carolina Tamagnini – carotamagnini@fundeps.org

Discrimination: the failures of virtual “denunciations” before the INADI

On the site Infobae, it was published with a note titled “Reversed roles: did the woman become more masculine in relationships?“, Which repeatedly incurs stereotypical and discriminatory comments and symbolic violence towards women. From this, a consultation was made with INADI, which did not have concrete results.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic.”

 

The news in question is developed from an interview with a psychologist who, while highlighting the advances of women in the professional field, understands that these are spaces reserved for men, usurped by women, placing them in related tasks Home and care. According to the psychologist and writer Beatriz Goldberg, today’s woman is dislocating the man from her place. He has difficulty in finding the right role.’Women can and should have activities in all areas, But from the role of woman.If you ‘masculinize’, you lose your intuitive and intellectual capacity. ”

It is worrying to continue to think that the labor and professional fields, as well as the tasks of providing economic resources in the home, are exclusively male, and to the “masculinized” women, when they are part of these spaces or they appropriate those tasks.

Likewise, repeated references are made to the importance of not losing typically “feminine” characteristics, such as sensitivity or intuition. Likewise, denigrating comments are made, such as the reference to women as household appliances: “It is multiprocessor, it does everything, it is multiple”.

These types of opinions and comments reproduce sociocultural patterns of behavior that stereotype, discriminate and subordinate women, demanding that they be reserved for certain spaces and meet certain characteristics to be considered as such. In addition, being a person placed in a space of authority for their professional qualifications, it is understood that the psychologist is a referent on gender issues and therefore, their sayings have more influence on the reader.

The acts described have their roots in social conditions of inequality suffered by women, rooted in society, with a strong symbolic content that reinforces such conditions.

Phrases enunciated by the interviewee as “the role of women in society is to be a woman” promotes the idea that men and women have roles determined only by being one or the other. In addition, the lack of reflection on the struggles of women’s movements, which after decades of activism achieved progressive equality before the law between men and women, made visible the barriers they have to accessing jobs or participation in professional life.

The complaint process

From the facts, it was decided to make a presentation in front of INADI, since this is a fact of discrimination against women, occurred in a digital medium. We use the process of consultation for discrimination, the most accessible on the body’s website. From telephone communications, we followed up on our claim, which was derived to the Platform by a free Internet of discrimination. Subsequently, it was presented to the medium producing the discriminatory content, as a concern but without any obligation, so the note was not modified or withdrawn from the website. Against this, INADI took no action in the matter and the case remained in mere consultation. The virtual mechanism, then, proves not to be effective, since the claims do not acquire character of denunciation.

In order for INADI to make its effective pronouncement, the complaints must be presented as complaints, which must be made personally in front of a delegation of INADI. It should be recalled that the Argentine State is obliged to carry out measures against discrimination against women, not only by local legislation, but also by the human rights treaties ratified by our country and constitutional hierarchy, such as the Convention On Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention of Belem do Pará.

More information

Contact

Carolina Tamagnini – carotamagnini@fundeps.org