UNFPA considers the media as a fundamental partner in advocating for the fight against Gender Based Violence (GBV), as it is well positioned to provoke debate and stimulate positive change in different societies, through conveying relevant information and messages as well as raising awareness of the nation at large about various facets of GBV and its implication at multiple levels (e.g. social, economical, cultural, etc). It is in that context that the findings and recommendations of the “Assessment of Media Coverage of GBV in Lebanon”, carried out by the Lebanese Council to Resist Violence against Women (LECORVAW) with UNFPA’s support, stressed on the vital role of media in fighting GBV. Indeed the study findings specifically called for sensitizing and training journalists/media personnel to acquire the necessary skills for reporting GBV issues. Building on the outcome of this assessment, UNFPA partnered with the Lebanese University, Faculty of Journalism and Documentation, and organized a 5-days training workshop (5-9 November) targeting 24 graduate journalism students. The objective of this training was to strengthen their capacities in different GBV-related competencies i.e. knowledge, understanding, analytical and communication skills in order for the participants to find and use new angles for effectively and ethically addressing and reporting on GBV issues. 

Journalism students who participated in the workshop acquired core theoretical knowledge pertaining to GBV, in addition to creative and advanced reporting/journalism techniques and skills. This event was crowned with the launching of an article-writing contest, whereby the participants were asked to write a journalistic piece (investigative report, feature story, etc) in Arabic on a GBV-related topic. As a result, a total of 10 articles were received by the established deadline. The articles were reviewed and scored by a jury including representatives from the Media, the National Commission for Lebanese Women, KAFA (Enough Violence and Exploitation), UNOHCHR and UNFPA. The competition culminated in a prize distribution event on December 14 where authors of the best articles - Reine Ibrahim, Jihane El Masri, Ali Madi and Amine Hamadeh - were awarded prizes. (Read the award-winning articles below). This event also constituted an opportunity for disseminating the complete 5 GBV studies supported by UNFPA (Click here to acess studies).