As part of the World Forum on gender equality held in Tunis, Tunisia, from 24 to 26 April, the Council of Europe, the Independent High Authority for Audiovisual Communication in Tunisia (HAICA) and the High Authority for Audiovisual Communication in Morocco (HACA) organized a session of interprofessional regional dialogue on subject of the treatment of violence against women by the media, which took place on 26 April at the ‘Cité de la Culture’. The session was attended by the Presidents of both the Tunisian and Moroccan regulatory authorities as well as journalists, academics, lawyers and representatives of civil society.

The discussions highlighted the key role played by the media sector in preventing all forms of violence against women and in changing mentalities including stereotypical and sexist perceptions in the Maghreb region. Mr. Nouri LAJMI, President of the HAICA (Tunisia), emphasized the commitment of his entity to improving the presence of women in the media while noting the recent appointment of women to the head of six Tunisian public radio stations. For her part, Mrs. Latifa AKHARBACH, President of the HACA (Morocco), drew the outlines of the normative framework in Morocco for the protection of gender equality in Morocco. She also presented some good practices put in place by the media and the sanctions adopted by the HACA in case of contraventions of the law. At the end of the session, recommendations were made including the need to accompany regulators in their role as advisors to the legislators and to disseminate the good practices of regulators related to gender-sensitive monitoring. The journalists pointed out the existence of self-regulatory mechanisms to ensure parity, but also recalled that the equal representation of women in front and behind the screen remains a major challenge.

This activity is part of the joint program of the European Union and the Council of Europe (Programme Sud III); the objective of which is to ensure the sustainability of democratic governance and human rights in the South of the Mediterranean.