“GENDER VIOLENCE AND COMMUNICATION PUBLIC POLICIES”.

The Foundation for the Development of Sustainable Policies (FUNDEPS) 1 and the
Asociación Civil Comunicación para la Igualdad 2 respectfully present this report to the Special
Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences.

The information provided in this “shadow report” is the result of monitoring current
public policies, about communication and gender, in Argentina. This monitoring, was
published in the report entitled “Violencia de género y Políticas públicas de comunicación”
(Chaher & Pedraza, Violencia de género y políticas públicas de comunicación, 2016), publicly
and freely available online.

1. Argentinean regulatory framework

It is noticeable that, in later years, the advancement in the legislation opened a space for the
conceptualization of symbolic violence and violence in the media that includes the use of
stereotypes and sociocultural patterns as a form of production and reproduction of
discrimination against women.

In December 2015, a new government took office. As one of its first measures, it changed via
decree of the Executive Power the Audiovisual Communication Services Law and its
enforcement authority, one of the main pillars of the current regulatory framework for gender

1
The Foundation for the Development of Sustainable Policies (FUNDEPS) is a nonprofit organization based in Argentina,
whose work is aimed towards the development of a fairer, more equitable and inclusive society, for which it promotes the
empowerment of community stakeholders in the development process. Its main working areas are Access to Justice, to
Information, Defense and Monitoring of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and Democratic Governance. From those areas,
and through strategic public interest litigation, research and public policy advocacy, it promotes a framework to gurantee the
fullfilment of the international Human Rights commitments taken by Argentina, transparency, participation mechanisms, and
access to justice safeguards.
2
The Acociación Civil Comunicación para la Igualdad is a nonprofit organization with the purpose of promoting gender
diversity and equality in the media. Its main working areas are the production and publication of news, capacity building in
communication and gender, and monitoring public policies. These actions are carried out with a framework focused on rights
and a human rights paradigm..
and communication. By amending the law and weakening its authority (which is now less
independent and with lesser means of action), the government is diminishing the level or
protection of women against gender violence in the media.

It is crucial to remember the necessity to prevent regressive measures that would

diminish the level of protection of women against gender violence in the media.

2. Institutional Structure and Public Policies for communication and gender

a. Audiences Defender

The Audiences Defender (DPSCA, for its name in Spanish) is one of the most relevant bodies
for monitoring media content and has emerged as one of the main governmental actors against
gender violence in the media.

However, in several cases the DPSCA dismissed complaints against content in which
traditional and stereotypical gender representations were shown, and that should have
been considered as infringing articles of the Audiovisual Communication Services and
Integral Protection Law.

b. Audiovisual Communication Services Federal Authority

The Audiovisual Communication Services Law created the Audiovisual Communication

Services Federal Authority, granting it competence to sanction audiovisual media outlets that
infringe the law. It is able to impose fines, channel mediation and offer conflict resolution
instances. It can also forbid the broadcast of content for the most blatant cases of discrimination
or violence.

However, between 2011 and 2015 only one sanction was found based on the violation of
the Integral Protection Law. It also should be pointed out that the difficulty to know the
status of the processes, and their possible resolutions, does not allow citizen control.
 c. National Women Council

The National Women Council is charged with developing public policies to prevent, sanction,
and eradicate violence against women, as the enforcement authority of the Integral Protection
Law.

However, over the past few years, the Council did not include in its work the response to
complaints of violence in the media.

d. Graphic press and internet contents

The graphic media and the internet have no specific regulatory framework. It is clear that the
lack of specific legislation in this type of media makes it much harder to monitor and prevent
cases of gender violence.

This legal situation reveals a lack of access to justice, harming the victims of gender
violence.

3. Suggestions and Recommendations

With the utmost respect to the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and
consequences, we submit the following recommendations for your consideration:

a. There has been an advancement in the implementation of regulations and policies that
promote the elimination of sociocultural patterns and stereotypes that reproduce the
discrimination of women in the media. However, we recommend that the public policies on
communication not to diminish the level of protection of women in the media. We also
recommend to discuss potential amendments to the legal framework through open and
pluralistic discussions. Furthermore, we urge to keep the autonomy of the entities in
charge of enforcing the laws that regulate communications, and their plural,
representative, and participative composition.

b. To keep implementing measures towards the strengthening of enforcing bodies in

cases of objectification, stigmatization, and stereotyping of women in the media, taking
these causes for judging as autonomous and independent from other rights affected.

c. To simplify and facilitate the complaint processes before every entity, by preparing
simple and accessible forms and to avoid imposing investigative duties on the
complainant.

d. It is important to point out the need to guarantee the implementation of public

policies across the country, regardless of the geographical distance to the entities’
headquarters.

e. Finally, to carry the implementation of a protective system for women’s rights to

non-discrimination and to a life free of violence in graphic media and the internet, similar
to that of audiovisual media.

FUNDEPS – www.fundeps.org

Comunicación para la Igualdad - www.comunicarigualdad.com.ar

Virginia Pedraza Sandra Chaher

Coordinadora Presidenta
Área de Derechos Humanos Asociación Civil
Fundación para el Comunicación para la Igualdad
Desarrollo de Políticas Sustentables info@comunicarigualdad.com.ar
FUNDEPS +54-11-47726862
vir.pedraza@fundeps.org Thames 863, PB 3, Ciudad de Buenos Aires (CP
+54-351-4600578 1414)
Artigas 120, Piso 6, Of. “I”· Córdoba, Argentina.
Argentina. CP X5000CUB