IRISE Calls for Ethical, Evidence-Based Reporting on SRHR Issues

The Initiative to Resist Institutional Slavery and Exploitation (IRISE), an NGO, on Friday called on journalists to produce more insightful, evidence-driven reports on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR).

The Executive Director of IRISE, Mrs Omodele Ibitoye-Ejeh, made the call during a two-day media evaluation and roundtable held in Lagos.

The event assessed the impact of media coverage on SRHR issues, while also providing media partners the opportunity to review progress made since IRISE's February 2026 training on rights-based, evidence-driven SRHR reporting. The evaluation was designed to identify existing challenges, share reporting experiences, and develop practical strategies for improving both the quality and societal impact of SRHR journalism.

Ibitoye-Ejeh, who also serves as Country Coordinator for One Million Rising — a global movement working to end gender-based violence — urged journalists to steer clear of survivor-blaming narratives. She emphasised that reporters should rely on data and accessible language to communicate SRHR issues effectively, while actively working to correct misinformation circulating in the media space.

"Media plays a critical role in shaping societal understanding of sensitive issues, including abortion and survivors of sexual violence," she said. She further decried the spread of misinformation by bloggers, urging professional journalists to maintain a strong presence in the media landscape to counter inaccurate narratives on SRHR. She also called for greater sensitivity around stigma and survivor-blaming in reports involving sexual violence, stressing the importance of holding perpetrators accountable while offering meaningful support to survivors.

Resource person Mr Cyracus Nnaji spoke on the importance of ethical reporting in cases involving survivors of sexual and gender-based violence, urging journalists to avoid judgmental language and ensure their reports do not subject survivors to further trauma. He defined SRHR, from a human rights perspective, as every individual's right to make decisions about their own body without discrimination — a concept that encompasses access to quality reproductive health services, bodily autonomy, and dignity.

"Ethical reporting should not be judgmental. Journalists should focus on the perpetrators and the offence committed rather than the survivor's actions or behaviour," Nnaji said. He also stressed the importance of obtaining survivors' consent before publishing their stories, cautioning against the inclusion of explicit details that could expose survivors to further stigma.

Also speaking, Mr Moses Nosike of Vanguard Newspaper identified difficulty in accessing information from survivors as one of the key challenges confronting journalists covering SRHR issues. He noted that legal impediments sometimes further complicate efforts by journalists to gather the information needed for comprehensive SRHR reporting.