MDC-T MP attacks media on rape coverage

Bulawayo East legislator Thabitha Khumalo has attacked the media for what she calls unfair coverage on perpetrators of rape.

Khumalo said in Parliament on Tuesday whereas male perpetrators are rarely mentioned by name in articles, female perpetrators were named.

"Speaker Sir, is the issue of media coverage. Every time a rape occurs, there is mention of the victim and not the perpetrator as long as that perpetrator is a man. I think, all of us have been reading from the newspapers where there has been an outcry of female rapists," Khumalo said.

"Mr. Speaker Sir, the newspapers, the televisions were awash with these female rapists because they were women. They were all over but a man rapes a woman, we have never seen their pictures. All we know is Mr. X raped Hon.  Khumalo and that is where it ends. So, we are asking the media to play their role in addressing the gender violence issue."

Khumalo said the media was supposed to educate people and must do their job.

"They should not select who has raped who. Rape is rape and make sure that the coverage does also deal with issues of women," Khumalo said.

"There is something good that we can do, one of the good things is the presentation by Hon. Mpariwa."