New Aga Khan University Study Calls Out Media for Ignoring Perpetrators in Gender-Based Violence Coverage Across East Africa

A new study by the Aga Khan University’s Graduate School of Media and Communications (GSMC) reveals that a persistent focus on event-driven narratives, victim sympathy, and official sources is failing to hold perpetrators of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and femicide in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania accountable and hindering the pursuit of justice

Drawing on data from more than 1,200 news stories published between January 2024 and April 2025, the report title “Media Framing of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence and Femicide in East Africa, sheds light on a critical gap: only 3% of stories focused on perpetrators, despite thematic framing which situates violence within broader social structures dominating 78% of the coverage reviewed.

“This study underscores the critical role of the media in shaping how societies understand and respond to gender-based violence,” said Professor Nancy Booker, Dean at GSMC. “It challenges journalists and editors to move beyond the headlines to tell stories that humanize survivors, question impunity, and hold systems accountable. Journalism has the power not just to inform, but to drive justice and change.”

While the study noted positive progress, including a dominant trend towards situating violence within broader social and cultural contexts, the findings highlight a failure to connect incidents to accountability. A stark 3% focus on perpetrators means the individuals responsible for violence often remain out of sight in media narratives, especially in follow-up reporting. Only 11% of stories amplified survivor voices, despite survivors being central to the narrative of violence. Kenya accounted for more than half of the regional coverage (54%), followed by Tanzania (28%) and Uganda (18%), suggesting a positive impact from the institutionalization of gender desks and targeted newsroom training.

Lead researcher Dr Hesbon Hansen Owilla noted that this invisibility is a major barrier to progress. “There’s growing awareness in East African media that gender-based violence and femicide are societal issues rather than isolated incidents,” he noted. “But coverage remains largely event-driven, and perpetrators are still invisible, especially in follow-up reporting. That invisibility fosters impunity and weakens deterrence.”

The report, part of GSMC’s Advancing Gender Equality in Media and Civil Society in East Africa (AGEMC-EA) project, urges media houses to institutionalize gender desks, embed gender-sensitive journalism in editorial practice, and strengthen collaborations with academia, policymakers, and civil society.

“The media is not just a mirror of society, it is an agent of change,” added Professor Booker. “This report is a wake-up call to reimagine how we tell stories about gender-based violence, and whose voices we choose to center.”

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