Zone Two Command of Nigeria Police, has urged journalists to report all cases of sexual and gender-based.

They should avoid judgmental languages in their write ups, writing about a survivour’s history, what they wear, what were they doing or what time of day the abuse occurred could imply survivour blame.

Police Public Relations Officer, Dolapo Badmus, made the appeal at a one-day seminar for media practitioners on “Investigating and Reporting Sexual and Gender-Based Violence organised by the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Team,DSVRT.

Dolapo, a Superintendent of Police said generally, contextual factors such as those just listed should be avoided in all media reporting on SGBV, unless justifiably relevant to the story, survivours and perpetrators’ ethnicity should not be reported.

She also urged journalists to give life and hope to survivours and also indicate prevention measures in their write-ups, saying treat survivours with respect, ensure privacy by conducting interviews in a secure environment and avoid questions that are sensitive.

Dolapo urged journalists to work in collaboration with the police in order to bring perpetrators to book and save survivours from shame.

Coordinator of DSVRT, Titilola Vivour-Adeniyi, said there was the need to train media personnel in reporting SGBV properly, saying it was important that journalists understand and describe key concepts and basic principles of reporting gender-based violence.