CAM: You are the Producer of the Womxn Show on Cape Town TV. What is the show about, and why did you decide to start it? Lenina :The Womxn Show was launched in 2019 to address and make visible the systemic failures in the response to gender-based violence (GBV) in South Africa. While covering GBV as part of Cape Town TV's daily news, we realised that there were many underlying issues beyond the basic narrative of men killing and raping women and children. For instance, although over 50,000 sexual assaults are reported to the police, only a small percentage of those cases make it to court, with a conviction rate of under 10%. This means that over 90% of sexual assaults go unaddressed in a country with the highest rates of gender-based violence in the world. It's shocking that many people, even those protesting in the streets, are unaware of the scale of perpetrators who go free or are not even arrested. We launched The Womxn Show to bring systemic issues like this to light, hoping to push for greater accountability and provide validation for victims of violence who are often blamed for their assaults. CAM: You are doing remarkable work in giving a voice to the community by bringing issues around GBVF to light. Tell us about your journey and how you became such a force in the social justice sector? Lenina : To be honest, while I studied journalism, I never really aspired to work in broadcasting, much less be on TV. Believe me, I suffer from imposter syndrome as much as the next woman. But when I first discovered the brokenness in the legal and other systems dealing with GBVF and gender issues, I initially went to colleagues in the media to try to pitch and persuade them to cover systemic failure instead of sensationalising brutal cases of rape, femicide, and child abuse. However, I was told that this content was not sexy enough. The station manager of Cape Town TV, Karen Thorne, and I found this unacceptable, so we approached the Ford Foundation for funding to pilot a show focusing on GBV. We need a TV show because the lack of information creates a significant opportunity for secondary victimisation in legal and other processes and settings for victims of violence, and this secondary violence has almost zero visibility. We are proud to be a show and station that covers these hidden topics, equipping citizens, especially women, with the knowledge they need to navigate the legal system better, from child maintenance to rape cases.
CAM: A thread that runs through your shows is the empowerment of women. Let's talk about gender discrimination and gender-based violence because the two may be intertwined. How do these two issues show up in the media workspace? What are some prominent types of discrimination women face in this sector? Lenina : I come from a background in women's magazines and occasionally the news, and I think there has been a historical bias in assigning women softer pieces. Moreover, there is an overall lack of representation and underrepresentation of women working in and being featured in the media. Threats and bullying against female journalists have received global coverage, as well as cases of femicide. Women journalists are particularly vulnerable to sexual assault and rape threats, and that also needs to be acknowledged. However, we also need to focus on the disparity in gender when it comes to female ownership and leadership in media. Many times, these injustices are allowed because there is no context from the top, and as a result, the system fails to protect female journalists and female audiences alike. 105
June 2023 | Collective Action Magazine
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