Blog
This blog collates writing on women and media from across Scotland. If you’ve written a blog and are happy for it to be featured here, or would like to write something specifically for this site, get in touch.
When Words Fail: The Way Institutions Talk about Sarah Everard Matters
[CN: violence against women, police violence]
In this blog post, Gender Equal Media Scotland's Development Officer, Dr. Miranda Barty-Taylor, discusses the language used by institutions in the wake of the Sarah Everard case and trial, and the epidemic of violence against women and girls in the UK. This blog entry largely refers to UK institutions.
I am grappling with my unproductivity, as my concentration veers from a report on gender equality in the media to the horrifying details emerging from the trial of Sarah Everard’s killer. I suppose it is little wonder; while half my brain analyses the discourses being reproduced in the inevitable public discussion of the trial, the other half is reeling from the fear she must have felt. Just as I deconstruct the ideologies behind the Met’s next statement, I feel again an incandescence of anger that is too bright to bear. The language coming from sites of political and police power is so very problematic, reinforcing misogynistic norms and neglecting to acknowledge the crisis of men’s violence against women.
Violence against women and girls is an epidemic in the UK, reports Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS). In March Johnson made a statement about the Safer Streets fund, which the Government doubled to £45 million, to be spend on streetlights and CCTV. The language he uses about violence against women and girls is revealing: we need to “better protect and defend them.” This construction positions women and girls as dependent and weak, requiring the strength of male-dominated institutions such as the criminal justice system to look after their interests. Framed in such a way, more streetlights might make sense. However, it is far removed from the “radical and bold” action called for by the HMICFRS. Meanwhile the cuts to 60% of local authority domestic abuse refuges further underline the lack of political will to fund existing women’s services on the front line of men’s violence.
#PasstheMic - where are the women of colour in Scottish election news?
by Professor Karen Boyle and Melody House at the University of Strathclyde, and Talat Yaqoob founder of Pass the Mic.
Pass the Mic is a project focusing on women of colour in Scottish news media. Initially an online database of women of colour experts, thanks to funding from the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, from 2020-21 the project has expanded to undertake direct work with women of colour experts and media partners STV, The Herald, Sunday National, Daily Record, Scotsman, Courier and Holyrood magazine to challenge exclusionary cultures within news media and create a platform for the expertise of women of colour. This funding has also enabled them to undertake research to establish baseline information about where women of colour currently appear in Scottish news media in partnership with Gender Equal Media Scotland.
Read the previous blogs in the series here:
#PasstheMic - Part 2 of our Media Monitoring Study
by Professor Karen Boyle and Melody House at the University of Strathclyde, and Talat Yaqoob founder of Pass the Mic.
Pass the Mic is a project focusing on women of colour in Scottish news media. Initially an online database of women of colour experts, thanks to funding from the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, from 2020-21 the project has expanded to undertake direct work with women of colour experts and media partners STV, The Herald, Sunday National, Daily Record, Scotsman, Courier and Holyrood magazine to challenge exclusionary cultures within news media and create a platform for the expertise of women of colour. This funding has also enabled them to undertake research to establish baseline information about where women of colour currently appear in Scottish news media in partnership with Gender Equal Media Scotland.
Read the previous blogs in the series here:
New survey for women in Scottish Arts, Culture and Media
Tell us about your experiences of working in the arts, culture and media sectors in Scotland, to help improve women's equality.
Gender Equal Media Scotland has commissioned some new research to help us better understand the barriers facing women working in the Scottish arts, culture and media sectors. A research team at the University of Edinburgh and Robert Gordon University and is investigating obstacles to women’s participation and representation in Scottish media and cultural industries.
If you are a woman working in the Scottish arts or culture sector, or the media, we'd love to hear from you. You can share you thoughts and experiences with us by participating in this survey.
The project aims to hear from as many women as possible across Scotland, to help understand what mechanisms and initiatives have been successful in improving access and representation in the sector and how change might best be achieved. Participation is completely voluntary and participants may opt out at any point. This survey is also anonymous. Data will be collectively analysed, in line with non-disclosive reporting. The survey will close on 20 June, 2021.
Any further questions about this project can be directed to Dr. Sarah Liu (
sarah.liu@ed.ac.uk@DrSarahLiu), or the co-investigators, Dr. Meryl Kenny (M.Kenny@ed.ac.uk@merylkenny) and Dr. Fiona McKay (f.mackay5@rgu.ac.uk@fi_mckay). Thanks in advance for your participation.
#Passthemic - women of colour in stories about Scotland
by Professor Karen Boyle and Melody House at the University of Strathclyde, and Talat Yaqoob founder of Pass the Mic.
Pass the Mic is a project focusing on women of colour in Scottish news media. Initially an online database of women of colour experts, thanks to funding from the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, from 2020-21 the project has expanded to undertake direct work with women of colour experts and media partners STV, The Herald, Sunday National, Daily Record, Scotsman, Courier and Holyrood magazine to challenge exclusionary cultures within news media and create a platform for the expertise of women of colour. This funding has also enabled them to undertake research to establish baseline information about where women of colour currently appear in Scottish news media in partnership with Gender Equal Media Scotland.
Read the previous blogs in the series here:
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