IRISE charges Media on Responsible Reporting of SRHR, Call for Stronger Partnership

By Charity Nwanyi Okonko:

The Initiative to Resist Institutional Slavery and Exploitation (IRISE) has called on media professionals to adopt more evidence-based and stigma-free reporting on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) and Gender-Based Violence, GBV.

This was the key message at a two-day major media roundtable held at Perfecto la Villa Hotel, Amuwo-Odofin, in Lagos, described as a “refresher” to the evidence-based training on media reporting that was first conducted in February 2026.

Executive Director of IRISE and Country Coordinator for One Billion Rising Nigeria, Omodele Ibitiye Ejeh, said the media remains a powerful force in shaping public opinion and social norms. “We at IRISE understand the important role that media plays in shaping society. We understand the importance of training media and partnering with media personnel to look at how data for reporting is sourced and how evidence is being gotten to shape the reporting that is put out there.

“For us, we believe that the media are like prophets, they shape the narrative of ordinary people,” Ejeh stated.

The roundtable was convened to review progress made since the February training and to identify gaps that still exist in media coverage of SRHR and GBV.

According to IRISE, a baseline research was conducted before the first training to assess how major media houses were reporting issues around sexual and reproductive health and gender-based violence. The assessment looked at three key areas: tone of reporting, sources of data, and presence of stigma.

Findings from the baseline and subsequent monitoring revealed both progress and persistent challenges. One major concern highlighted was the use of contradictory visuals in news stories. “There was this reporting on contraceptives, not even abortion. The writings were accurate, but the picture was stigmatizing,” the Executive Director explained.

“The picture there was that of a heavily pregnant woman with the child in the womb visible. So you are talking about contraceptives and you are putting a picture of a baby inside the womb. Those are contradicting messages.

“You are telling women to use contraceptives to prevent unintended pregnancies, but you have a heavily pregnant person in the picture. Ordinarily, a layman could look at it and say, ‘Are you telling me to take these drugs to abort this pregnancy?’ It sends a very, very negative message.”

Another issue raised was unconscious bias in journalism. The IRISE boss noted that sometimes journalists write from a personal moral standpoint without critically examining how their words and images affect public perception. “Sometimes, most times when we write, it’s just the way we are thinking. We put the way we are best thinking into our writings and it reflects our morals,” she said.

She stressed that while many journalists are working hard to put out accurate and factual messages, there is still a need for more professional, research-backed content, especially in the age of social media where “everybody is a blogger now.”

“We want to see media that is more visible, media representatives that are more visible on the social media space rather than looking at bloggers causing blunder in our society,” she added.

A major expectation from the roundtable, she said, is a stronger, more structured partnership between IRISE and media personnel across Nigeria.

The goal is to equip journalists with better data, access to experts, and visual guidelines that prevent misrepresentation of SRHR issues.

“We want to see more improved materials in the media space and we want to see professionals shaping the media space,” she said. “The media is working hard, but we need to support them to do their work better.”

She explained that accurate reporting on SRHR is critical because misinformation and stigma contribute directly to poor health outcomes, silence around GBV, and barriers to accessing services.

As Country Coordinator for One Billion Rising, a global mass movement to end violence based on gender, she reiterated the movement’s commitment to using media as a tool for advocacy and social change.

One Billion Rising mobilizes people worldwide every February to dance, speak out, and demand an end to violence against women and girls. In Nigeria, the movement works closely with civil society, government, and the media to amplify survivor voices and push for policy change.

Participants at the roundtable agreed on several areas for improvement: Fact-checking and Evidence: Journalists should rely on data from health institutions, research bodies, and rights organizations, not just opinion or anecdotes.

Visual Responsibility: Newsrooms need editorial guidelines for images that accompany SRHR stories to avoid sending mixed messages.

Training and Retraining: Continuous capacity building for reporters and editors on SRHR language, ethics, and human rights frameworks.

Amplifying Professional Voices: More visibility for trained journalists on digital platforms to counter misinformation from unverified bloggers.

IRISE said it will be rolling out follow-up support for media houses, including access to resource persons, data toolkits, and a media monitoring feedback loop to track improvements in reporting.

The organization also called on editors and media managers to prioritize SRHR and GBV as public health and human rights issues, not as taboo topics.

“As media, you have the power to either break the stigma or reinforce it,” the Executive Director concluded. “We are calling on you to choose to be the prophets of truth, dignity, and evidence.”

The roundtable ended with a commitment from participants to deepen collaboration and to ensure that reporting on sexual and reproductive health and rights in Nigeria is accurate, ethical, and free from stigmatisation.