Chile. A recent survey in the framework of the International Day of Working Women, carried out by the Department of Studies of the CNTV, reveals that mornings, humorous routines and advertising are the television spaces where it is more frequent to find denigratory content towards women.
The opinion survey, applied for the third consecutive year to people who have filed complaints with the CNTV, seeks to investigate the perceptions of one of the audiences most interested in the television phenomenon. "This work measures, on the one hand, the time that television gives to different social groups, and on the other the treatment it gives them, whether positive or negative," explained María Dolores Souza, director of the Department of Studies
According to the results of the survey, in which 2,097 women and men participated, the majority of respondents consider that television shows more men than women when representing sexual diversities, persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples, migrants and persons deprived of liberty.
The president of the CNTV, Faride Zerán, comments that "March 8 is a day that year after year invites us to reflect on the advances in the historical demands of the women's movement, but it is also an instance to verify the various gaps that still separate us from equity in the exercise of our rights. This survey gives an account of precisely that, of how it is perceived that women, especially those in poverty, migrants and belonging to indigenous peoples, are discriminated against. It is necessary that the media in general and television in particular, by their scope, review their practices and reflect on their role in democracy and the construction of an equitable society."
More than a third of the people consulted say that television tends to harm women in poverty, migrants, prisoners, indigenous people, sexual diversities and adolescents.
The study also shows that TV would be reflecting recent cultural changes: one in three people interviewed considers that the treatment of sexual diversities has improved, also in other groups the percentage of those who believe that the treatment improved is higher, compared to those who consider the opposite. However, in the case of migrant women, more people feel that their treatment on TV has worsened.
The most equitable representation, in terms of the time of appearance according to the people consulted, would be only among girls and boys.
Most offensive means
60.5% of the people surveyed say that social networks are the medium in which it is most frequent to find offensive content towards women. It is followed by television, with a much lower percentage of mentions, 25.6%.
For full survey results, click here.
