Friday, March 28, 2008 Stop projecting women, kids as sex objects, legislator asks
GOVERNMENT officials are urging television producers to check if their shows are demeaning women and children.
During a recent forum, Provincial Board Member Agnes Magpale said they already sent two resolutions to the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTCRB) asking it to “tone down” the practice of showing women in skimpy outfits during noontime shows.
She specifically cited Wowowee of ABS-CBN and Eat Bulaga of GMA 7.
Aside from reviewing motion pictures, publicity materials, and TV programs, MTCRB also supervises and regulates these shows.
Meanwhile, Senior Insp. Cleofe Romagos of Police Regional Office 7 lauded the media for respecting women and children who are either victims of rape and other forms of abuse.
Magpale recalled an experience where a reporter and a cameraman from a local television network respected the rights of an abused child by not forcing their way into the scene, as requested by a social worker handling the case.
Reminder
But Daisy Lor, of the Department of Social Welfare and Development, reminded media workers that when they are asked by parents to interview their child who is a victim or a witness to a crime, they should check first if the interview is for the best interest of the child and not of the parent.
So as not to magnify the trauma of a child victim or witness, a multi-disciplinary team approach must be used, Lor said. In this approach, the child will be questioned only once by a team composed of a doctor, a police officer and the media.
Magpale wants a special room conducive for such kind of interview.
Other initiatives implemented for the benefit of women and children are the enactment of the Provincial Women’s Code and the creation of more than 150 women and juvenile desks in various police stations in the region.
Another one is the development of a “wonderful” relationship between government agencies and non-government organizations, which are working closely to fill each others gaps in terms of manpower and resources. (NRC)
