Sexism in Croatian online media: Cases of violation of journalistic ethical principles

Seksizam kao diskriminacija na temelju spola i vjerovanje u inferiornost određenoga spola ima velike i često kobne posljedice na tjelesne, psihološke, socioekonomske i društvene čimbenike. S druge strane današnji su profesionalni standardi novinarskoga izvještavanja nerijetko niski pa se u medijima mogu zamijetiti i slučajevi kršenja etičkih načela u kontekstu objektivnosti, faktografije i empatičkog pristupa temi. Cilj je ovoga rada bio utvrditi postoji li seksizam u hrvatskim online medijima te, ako postoji, tko su najčešće žrtve i koja etička načela se pritom obično krše. U prvom, teorijskom dijelu rada obrađeni su pojmovi i pojave seksizma, etičkih načela hrvatskih novinara, rodne (ne)ravnopravnosti u Republici Hrvatskoj te način prikaza žena u medijima. Nakon toga provedeni su kratak pregled i analiza izvješća o radu Pravobraniteljice za ravnopravnost spolova RH u 2021. godini, s naglaskom na njegove segmente vezane za rodnu diskriminaciju i stereotipe, izvještavanje o rodno utemeljenom nasilju te seksizam u medijskim sadržajima. Na osnovu navedenoga, zaključeno je kako seksizam zahvaća i privatnu i javnu sferu, a velik problem hrvatske etičke medijske prakse čine senzacionalizam, tabloidizacija i neistinito izvještavanje. Najčešće žrtve seksizma u medijima su žene, nerijetko prikazane kao objekti požude i ljepote, dok im se istodobno pripisuju i stereotipne uloge poput majke i kućanice. Prilikom izvještavanja o rodno utemeljenom nasilju, urednici i novinari često koriste senzacionalističke naslove te ponekad sugeriraju i suodgovornost žrtve, dok je nasilan čin prikazan u formi filmske fabule, čime se ponovno krše etička načela novinarstva, ali i temeljna ljudska prava.Sexism as discrimination based on gender and the belief in the inferiority of a certain gender has great and often fatal consequences on physical, psychological, socioeconomic and social factors. On the other hand, today's professional standards of journalistic reporting are often low, so cases of violation of ethical principles in the context of objectivity, factuality and empathic approach to the topic can be noticed in the media. The aim of this work was to determine whether sexism exists in Croatian online media and if so, who are the most frequent victims and which ethical principles are usually violated. The first, theoretical part of the paper, describes concepts and phenomena of sexism, ethical principles of Croatian journalists, gender (in)equality in the Republic of Croatia and the way women are portrayed in the media. After that, a brief review and analysis of the report on the work of the Ombudsman for gender equality in the Republic of Croatia in 2021 was carried out, with an emphasis on its segments related to gender discrimination and stereotypes, reporting on gender-based violence and sexism in media content. On the basis of the above, it was concluded that sexism affects both the private and public spheres while the big problems of Croatian ethical media practice are sensationalism, tabloidization and untrue reporting. The most common victims of sexism in the media are women, who are often portrayed as objects of lust and beauty while at the same time, stereotypical roles such as mothers and housewives are attributed to them. When reporting on gender-based violence, editors and journalists often use sensationalist headlines and sometimes suggest co-responsibility of the victim while the violent act is shown in the form of a film plot, which again violates the ethical principles of journalism, as well as fundamental human rights