The women's minister told media companies and the entertainment industries that they need to use their influence to stop normalizing violence against women. Sindisiwe Chikunga spoke at the kickoff for a campaign against gender violence and said storytellers have more power than policymakers when it comes to shifting how people think about consent and accountability. She wants editors and producers to adopt content guidelines and run harm checks on anything that might promote toxic masculinity or abuse.
Research shows that a third of women have dealt with physical violence at some point and police reports track tens of thousands of sexual assault cases every year. The government rolled out care centers and cleared DNA backlogs but the minister admitted current efforts are not cutting it. She pushed for emergency-level coordination after the president classified gender violence as a national crisis and said changing what gets portrayed in movies and ads would change what society becomes.
Research shows that a third of women have dealt with physical violence at some point and police reports track tens of thousands of sexual assault cases every year. The government rolled out care centers and cleared DNA backlogs but the minister admitted current efforts are not cutting it. She pushed for emergency-level coordination after the president classified gender violence as a national crisis and said changing what gets portrayed in movies and ads would change what society becomes.
