Gender-Based Journalism Workshop in Mardin Targeted By Media

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The 11th leg of the Gender-Based Journalism Workshop carried out by the International Press Service (IPS) Communication Foundation with the support of Kaos GL, has been cancelled. The workshop was planned to be held on November 18, in Turkey's southeastern province of Mardin.

The project, that has completed its first year and continues in its second, has brought together local journalists, students of communication faculties and rights advocates who are dedicated to the issue in journalism workshops that have been held in İstanbul, Mersin, Bursa, İzmir, Eskişehir, Trabzon, Diyarbakır, Akyaka, Edirne and Dersim until today.

The 11th leg of the project that was planned to take place in Mardin on November 18 has been postponed due to reports targeting bianet and KaosGL, included expressions of hate speech and threats against LGBTIs and were made public to the press by İlke News Agency (ILKHA) and were published by the websites of pro-government Sabah and Güneş daily, by the national pro-government media outlets HaberVaktim and Yeni Akit as well as the local media of Mardin.

bianet has applied to the Mardin Governorship to ensure that the meeting takes in a secure environment.

Explaining that the main purpose of the workshop was to avoid such acts of hate speech and assaults, bianet and KaosGL have noted that they would come together with the journalists again in a secure environment. The two organizations have stated that they would continue this journalism workshop project, and advocating for rights-based journalism against hate speech in media, gender- and LGBTI- based journalism.

Criminal complaint will be launched against the media outlets who have spread false news targeted the workshop and are responsible for this act of hate speech.

Workshop targeted by media

Starting with İLKHA's report entitled "People of Mardin: We don't want these immoralists!" from November 9, news targeting the gender-based journalism workshops began to spread. Such reports were also published on websites such as Haber Çınarın Sesi, Doğru Haber, Hür24, Mardin Life and Hür Seda.

In İLKHA's report entitled "They aim at spreading sexual perversion in the region" published on November 15, six men including the Green Crescent Mardin Office Director Lütfü Günlüoğlu have targeted the workshop using expressions such as "Such a programme cannot take place in Mardin that is the cradle of several civilizations", and "such programmes could be cancelled earlier due to reactions from the religious segment".

This report was also published on the websites of Sabah daily, Güneş daily, HaberVaktim and Yeni Akit.

Also on the social media, news that "homosexuals would march in Mardin" referring to the workshop on November 18 were shared and these messages included also expressions such as "we will resist this situation and kill if necessary".

About the project

"Gender Based Journalism Guidebook and Library Project" is being supported by the European Union European Tool for Democracy and Human Rights (DİHAA) Fund.

The project that will last two years aims to discuss the ways for transformation of discourses and practices of mainstream media's dominant prejudice towards gender.

In the first year, journalists and representatives from women and LGBTI organizations came together in journalism workshops that were organized in İstanbul, Mersin, Bursa, İzmir, Eskişehir, Trabzon, Diyarbakır, Akyaka, Edirne and Dersim and discussed the issues of male-dominated journalism practice and the ways to deal with these.

The second year will continue with regional workshops and round-table discussions. A gender based journalism guidebook and online library will be formed via the collective work that will emerge from deliberations of workshop content that is to be formed by monitoring of newspaper and TV coverage.

Finally, a Gender Based Journalism Conference will be organized as part of the project. (ÇT/DG)