Guidebook to Reporting Gender and Sexuality

This guidebook was produced to help media in Nigeria to report on issues related to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) community. The guide comprises a series of articles that offer perspectives and guidelines for writing news on gender and sexuality, as well as food for thought around how journalism must give voice to marginalised social groups. As stated in the guide, "The common trend running through the articles is the need for journalists to understand the human rights aspect of their work."
The guide is designed to help journalists "avoid the pitfalls of language, emphasis and ignorance as they report about issues and on members of the community, and shows what impact inaccuracies or insensitivity may have on the people who bear the brunt of outcomes of reports." It reflects on the changing social context and sexual diversity in Nigeria, highlighting an agenda for development related to gender and sexuality. It draws on the authors own experiences, and offers examples of best practice from various media contexts about how best to deal with the most intimate and private aspects of people’s lives, which can be difficult to write about and discuss publicly in the context of cultural sensitivities and taboos surrounding sexuality. Importantly, it shows how the average LGBT person defines himself/herself, how their context embraces or rejects them, how they are shaped by the world they live in, and how they have a space in our society.
The Guidebook is divided into the following three sections: Section One: Issues on Gender, sexuality and sexual orientation

• Understanding gender and sexuality in the African context
• Understanding gender, sexual orientation and their implications for public health
• Uncovering myths about homosexual and transgender identities
• Policing gender and sexuality

Section Two: Repositioning media coverage on gender and sexuality

• Reporting gender and sexual minority: the interpretative imperative
• Contextualising gender and sexuality in development: reporting under-reported issues
• Ethical journalism: reporting gender and sexuality

Section Three: Acknowledging the dilemma of the LGBT community

• Past/future 2015
• Is there room for gays and lesbians in Nigeria today?
• My life as a gay Nigerian
• How to do friendship (an excerpt form the forthcoming novel Fishing for Naija)
• The way we are!
• Suggested language use for reporting gender

The guide was published by Projekthope Nigeria as part of the Reporting Sexuality and Sexual Health Project, an initiative geared towards helping the Nigerian media develop positive attitudes towards inclusivity and sensitivity to minority rights issues.