Journalists Urged to Avoid Stigmatizing Language in Reports

At a media roundtable held in Ago, Lagos State, on Thursday, Omodele Ejeh, the Executive Director of the Initiative to Resist Institutional Slavery and Exploitation (IRISE) and country coordinator of One Billion Rising, urged journalists to refrain from using stigmatizing language and images in their reporting on sexual and reproductive health issues and gender-based violence. This meeting followed a media training conducted in February 2026, aimed at promoting evidence-based and rights-based reporting.

Ejeh highlighted the media's significant influence on public opinion and the necessity for accurate reporting, especially in the context of rising citizen bloggers. She encouraged journalists to utilize social media to provide correct information and counteract misleading narratives.

Ejeh revealed that IRISE conducted a baseline study involving 100 media houses to assess their reporting practices, focusing on the tone, sources of information, and the presence of stigmatizing content. She cited an example where accurate written content was undermined by a stigmatising accompanying image.