Thirteen Armenian journalists and representatives of media civil society organisations (11 women and 2 men) participated in a seminar on 16-17 May 2024 in Tsaghkadzor, Armenia on gender sensitive language, lens, and ethical approaches in journalism to cover stories on violence against women and conflict-related displacement of women and girls.

The participants strengthened their knowledge of the impact of social norms, stereotypes, and unconscious gender bias and analysed issues affecting refugee women and girls. Exploring topics such as the media's role in shaping narratives, giving voice to victims and survivors, and sharing their stories, the seminar helped in fostering ethical, impartial, and impactful journalism.

“This seminar was enlightening, through engaging sessions, I deepened my understanding of gender equality and its portrayal in media narratives. The exploration of stereotypes and especially the perspectives presented on masculinities and conceptions around masculinities in Armenia were through-provoking. As someone who works at an educational foundation striving to break gender stereotypes through history education, the discussions on countering gender-based disinformation and on presenting various understandings of masculinities were particularly enlightening. This training has furthered my understanding of gender and encouraged me to work more on inclusive and equitable representations in our media projects” said Talin Saghdasaryan from Paradigma Educarional Foundation.

The seminar was organised in the framework of the Council of Europe project “Ending violence against women and promoting gender equality in Armenia” in partnership with the Ministry Labour and Social Affaire and Human Rights Defender’s office in the Republic in Armenia.