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Algeria TV normalises violence against women

June 13, 2017 at 2:41 pm

March against domestic violence [Reuters]

Images and speeches contained in programmes broadcast by certain Algerian television channels “publicly incites violence against women”, the National Council for Human Rights (CNDH) has warned.

The group called for measures to be taken in Algeria to put an end to such imagery, a statement said yesterday.

The CNDH criticised the fact that “programmes by certain television channels that are supposed to be entertainment, especially during the holy month of Ramadan, undermine the dignity of women and publicly incite adults and children alike through images and speeches.”

Many popular programmes broadcasted during Ramadan usually have hidden camera shows where women are repeatedly hit by individuals forced in artificial situations to react. The act of hitting is usually accompanied by comical sound effects and audience laughter which has been criticised for normalising violence against women.

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The CNDH has urged the judiciary to “apply the laws with a view to ending all forms of discrimination carried out by certain media, in particular on the basis of sex, race, colour or disability.”

It has also called on the Audiovisual Regulatory Authority to “assume its prerogatives arising from its mission as defined by the texts establishing its creation, including that of ensuring compliance with the laws and regulations in force in all broadcast programmes.”

In this context, the CNDH recommends that “media clauses banning all forms of discrimination, in accordance with the provisions of the Criminal Code” be included in the media operators’ specifications.