It has been stated that many women are the targets of sexual violence in commercials unlike men.
This was stated at the end of this week at a three-day gender seminar held in Dar es Salaam where it was stated that many media outlets have been committing such violence.
A trainer from Mwanza who is a journalist for Star TV, Ms. Kisali Simba called on the media outlets to stop the habit of sexually abusing women by putting content on their media outlets that humiliates them.
Ms. Simba said that many women in advertisements have been showing their bodies due to the clothes they are forced to wear, especially in advertisements for alcoholic beverages, feminine hygiene products, cigarettes and many others that advertisers feel women are the most attractive.
“Many advertisers use women because they feel women are the most attractive but even if they are attractive, they do not have to be dressed in clothes that humiliate them”, said Ms. Simba
Participants in the seminar said that many women are humiliated and subjected to sexual violence in the media due to ignorance of the law, economic problems and society not understanding the whole concept of advertising.
They said that the media that lead to violence are TV, Newspapers and online advertisements because they show pictures and videos unlike radio.
They advised that a woman wearing beautiful, moral, respectful and attractive clothes can advertise any business and the advertiser can profit from that advertisement and it is not necessary for her to wear clothes that show her nakedness for the advertisement to be good.
The seminar, organized by the Aga Khan University through its Graduate School of Media and Communications department, was attended by journalists from various media outlets and different regions.
