TOPIC

The Place of the Mass Media in Curing Child Marriage

AUTHOR

Ugwu Nnenna Jovita

ABSTRACT
The media are champions of human rights. They act as the eyes, ears and voices of the public, drawing attention to abuses of power and human rights, often at considerable personal risk. Through their work, they can encourage governments and civil society organisations to effect changes that will improve the quality of people‘s lives. Journalists, photographers and programme-makers frequently expose the plight of children caught up in circumstances beyond their control such as early marriages or abuse or exploitation by adults. Hence, this paper opines that it is equally important to consider the children‘s angle in more conventional news coverage. The way in which the media represent or even ignore children can influence decisions taken on their behalf and how the rest of society regards them. The media often depict children merely as silent victims’ or charming ‗innocents‘. By providing children and young people with opportunities to speak for themselves about their hopes and fears, their achievements and the impact of adult behaviour on their lives, media professionals can remind the public that children deserve to be respected as individual human beings. Media professionals have an obligation therefore, to respect children‘s human rights, in how they operate and how they represent them.

Keywords: human rights, media and child marriage

Download: FULL TEXT PDF

PUBLISHED

2023-01-11

HOW TO CITE

Ugwu Nnenna Jovita (2023).The Place of the Mass Media in Curing Child Marriage. IAA Journal of Communication, 9(1):21-25.