There is a need for the media in Fiji to be well versed and educated on gender issues.

This was highlighted by the Media Industry Development Authority (MIDA) chairman Ashwin Raj.

Speaking on FBC TV’s 4 the Record Raj says newsrooms in Fiji need to be educated on the ways in which to sensitively report on issues pertaining to gender and human rights.

Raj adds the media also need to ask meaningful questions about violence and the relationship between violence and gendering and how society is stratified.

“This is a huge challenge is whether media rooms have gender focal people who are actually trained in these issues. When you do have staff that undergo these critical training because of the fact that the turn-over rate is so high and you don’t have many people in your newsroom, everybody reports on other things and one of the difficulties with that is how the whole thing gets banalized.”

While training MIDA has conducted several training with personnel from various media organisations in Fiji, Raj says the momentum needs to be consistent.