Declaration seeks coordinated efforts against women trafficking

Panaji, Apr 26 (UNI) A pro-active media partnership with all stake holders and a strengthened institutional mechanism to prevent exploitation of women and child through positive reporting of related issues is the need of the hour, participants of a seminar resolved here.

The workshop ''Building Positive Partnership: Gender Sensitive and Rights Based Media Reporting'' adopted the ''Goa Declaration'', which encompasses a multi-partner national coalition to monitor and focus issues of ''trafficking and violence with a gender sensitive and rights based perspective'' besides sensitising the media through traininig and spreading awareness to check the evil.

The two-day workshop, organised by the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), culminated with the launch of a website www.nationalcoalition.in for sharing information and exchange of experiences and posting stories related to the issues.

The workshop also stressed the need for holding similar workshops at the State level to train and empower media persons besides facilitating them with regular news letters on the twin problems which cut across all boundaries.

The participants including NGO's, media personnel, womens' groups, police and government agencies, also called for evolving a code of guidelines to ensure ''factual, consistent, sensitive reporting without compromising the dignity and rights of the victims of trafficking and violence.'' Deputy Chief Minister Wilfred De Souza inaugurated the workshop in which over 50 delegates attached with media and human rights organisations from different parts of the country including Goa participated.

The workshop, supported by the International Centre, Goa and the USAID, discussed various aspects of media projection of issues related to trafficking, sex tourism, paedophilia, various acts associated with children and women and victim protection protocols.

UNI BM MJ YA BST1534