Things to consider when reporting male violence

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Those who take photos with the barrel used in Pınar Gültekin's killing, those who attempt to "lift the veil of mystery" on the homicide like a police officer...

A man university student named Cemal Metin A. has been remanded in custody for "killing" Pınar Gültekin. This is the story.

Gender-based reporting... It's one of the most difficult areas of journalism that you need to be very careful about.

For example, you need to be so careful while reporting an LGBTI+ story that you don't aggrieve the LGBTI+ and care about writing a report that respects their rights.

If you are writing a male violence report, there are again many points that you need to pay attention to. Writing the report through the eyes of the woman, not aggrieving the woman again, not giving too much detail if there is a murder in order to not show other men ways and methods are among the most known "sine qua non" of this type of reports.

If you witnessed some men saying before the court that they "made an inquiry about how to kill the women, and in what case they would receive a sentence reduction," you are very aware of what every detail in your report means.

While writing the report, you absolutely don't "adorn" violence and try to learn the details of the homicide like a police officer.

Also, in a male violence report, you don't use the photograph of the woman obtained from a social media account that is not related to the topic. You can use photographs from protests against violence on women or something like that.

When writing a report or asking questions about a feminicide, sexual abuse against a child or rights violations against LGBTI+s, you are always careful, you try not to commit a new rights violation.

As you see, you may think about every word a dozen times and think about which photo to choose for half an hour.

When you are starting and finishing the report, you ask yourself this question: "Have I aggrieved a woman, a child, an LGBTI+ with my report? For whom this report serves?

Of course, there are many details about gender-based journalism. We organize workshops for this and participate in panel discussions. We tirelessly try to learn. We tirelessly strive to explain and understand.

Because, we know that if we report the killing of a woman by a man, saying, "The felonious man violently killed the woman," we narrate the man and the crime he committed as if they are not from this country, this land, this time.

Because, we know that if we report the killing of a woman by a man, saying, "Men fallen in love killed the beautiful woman," we make the murder committed by the man invisible with the excuse and "innocence" of "love."

Because, we know that if we identify the killing of a woman by a man with a previous feminicide, we banalize murders. Then we hear this from men: "I'll make you the second Özgecan."

There is a reality of rapidly increasing male violence in the country.

The mentality that says, "Women and men are not equal," the judicial system that gives sentence reductions for even planned murders, and the media that hunts "clicks" by making violence pornographic.

If you are genuine when you say, "Women shouldn't be killed" and "Zero-tolerance against violence on women," you must implement the requirements of the İstanbul Convention rather than leaving it!

As I said in the beginning, the truth is always in front of us:

"A man university student named Cemal Metin A. has been remanded in custody for "killing" Pınar Gültekin." (EMK/VK)