Shifting the News Narrative About Violence Against Women in the Global South

The concluding chapter summarizes the key points of this edited collection regarding how the legacy press and social media have reported on violence against women (VAW) in 11 Global South countries, such as Southeast Asia (Indonesia), Latin America (Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico), sub-Saharan Africa (Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa), and North Africa and the Middle East (Egypt, Libya, Syria, and Yemen). Considering that Global North scholars have dominated media research and discussions of how #MeToo-related movements influence the practice of journalism, the chapter highlights that economic inequalities, conflicts, increasing rates of poverty, authoritarian regimes, state-controlled media, heightened intersectional vectors (e.g., race and ethnicity, caste, socioeconomic backgrounds, and persistent patriarchy), and COVID-19 normal times continue to shape #MeToo responses to the media coverage of VAW in the Global South. In the absence of media coverage, the chapter addresses alternative ways in which individuals and groups can respond to VAW to advance social change in the Global South. Based on empirical research, this chapter offers methodological and theoretical frameworks that can be further elaborated in the process of studying the discourse presented in this chapter. The chapter includes a revision of existing media guidelines linked to solutions-driven journalism narratives that can help improve the reporting about VAW in this region and beyond. Last, this chapter emphasizes the need for conducting further research on the media coverage of VAW in 61 other countries located in the Global South, specifically in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa regions.