Population First has announced the winners of the 10th Laadli Media and Advertising Awards for Gender Sensitivity (Regional) 2018-2019. The award event was held online considering the COVID-19 pandemi and The News Minute’s Shiba Kurian and Geetika Mantri for their article 'How patriarchy forces boys who survive sexual abuse into years of trauma, silence'.
As part of the story, TNM spoke to survivors and experts to understand what happens when a boy is sexually abused and how it impacts his sexuality and mental well-being. Read the full story here.
Seventy-five mediapersons received the awards while 18 received jury appreciation citations for their work. The stories included those published in the languages of Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Oriya, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, and English, Population First said in a press release.
The winners were selected from four regions, North, East, West, and South. The categories were news story, feature, investigative story, article, editorial, op-ed, column, podcast, electronic, blog, and social media campaign, the press release added. TNM's Shiba Kurian and Geetika Mantri won under the web and features category from the South region.
Thank you @Laadli_PF for this award. Since the important point was cut out from the video, let me & @geetikamantri say this: This story wouldn't have been possible without the male survivors, who believed in us as journalists, who made the tough decision to recount their trauma pic.twitter.com/8d1AIoeubz
— Shiba Kurian (@shiba_kurian) November 20, 2020
Chairperson of the National Commission for Women (NCW) Rekha Sharma was the chief guest of the event, and said that she hoped the media would create an environment that will encourage women.
"All laws to help women are in place, we need media's help for a better implementation of the laws. That will only happen when the mindsets change and media can help change mindsets through its reporting and campaigns," she said.
Dr AL Sharada, Director, Population First, said, “The Laadli Media Awards prove that even in the worst situations and cynical times there is hope. There is hope because there are many who are being true to their profession in journalism, showing great sensitivity and compassion, raising critical questions about gender inequalities, discrimination and violence and showing mirror to our politicians and all of us. They are role models for many aspiring journalists and media persons. We honour them with pride.”
Argentina Matavel Piccin, representative for United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in India and Country director Bhutan also spoke at the event. She said, "UNFPA India is proud to work with Population First to challenge stereotypes that perpetuate gender discrimination. We recognise the important role of the media in altering public perceptions around valuing women and girls, and being champions of change. We are therefore delighted to support the 10th edition of the Laadli Awards for gender sensitivity."
The jury included members of the media, academia and social activists, who zeroed down on 93 winners from around 1,100 entries received from across the country.