The Sunday Mail
Sunday Mail Reporter
The Sunday Mail reporter, Debra Matabvu, last week scooped the top prize at the Annual Spotlight Initiative Media Monitoring Awards (Northern Chapter) on Sexual Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) and Sexual Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR) reporting.
The awards, which are hosted by the Musasa Project in partnership with Spotlight Initiative and the United Nations Population Fund (UNPFA), recognise journalists reporting on gender-based violence.
Matabvu’s entry titled: “Child brides excel at A-Level” came first in the print media category.
The article was about two teenage mothers who overcame early child marriages, went back to school and scored 15 points in the 2020 A-Level Zimbabwe Schools Examinations Council (ZIMSEC).
Musasa Project director Precious Taru said the media was a key stakeholder in the fight against GBV.
“It gives me great pleasure to be part of this awards ceremony where the media is being recognised for their critical role as watchdogs in monitoring gender-based violence and highlighting the need for eliminating gender-based violence in Zimbabwe,” she said.
“Addressing GBV requires the collective efforts of many stakeholders, including the media.”
Matabvu thanked Musasa Project and its partners for the recognition.
“I would like to thank Musasa for the recognition and appreciating journalists for their work on GBV reporting,” she said.
“As journalists, we have a big role to play in order to raise awareness about the scourge of GBV.”
Harare Metropolitan Provincial Development Officer in the Ministry of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprise Development, Mr Enerst Chimbodza, said: “All stakeholders should come together in the fight against GBV.
“Journalists are important in the fight against GBV as they inform the nation on the various ways of identifying and reporting violence.
“Stakeholders should also monitor how GBV is reported in the media and point out gaps.”
Last year, Matabvu scooped the prestigious APO Group African Women in Media Award during the 6th Africa Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum (AWIEF) Virtual Conference and Awards.
The award recognises African women in the media who support female entrepreneurship throughout the continent. APO Group is a pan-African communications and business consultancy providing solutions that empower companies to grow their business.
She shrugged off stiff competition from four other short-listed finalists from Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda and Cameroon.
The award’s judging panel consisted of 100 luminaries, including global modelling icon Naomi Campbell and senior industry executives from companies such as Lafarge Africa, Coca-Cola, Facebook, Visa Microsoft, Hilton and Uber among others.
