Entries open today for the second annual Our Watch awards. The initiative, administered by the Walkley Foundation, recognises excellence in reporting on violence against women.
The awards are being launched to coincide with a landmark study, Media Representations of Violence Against Women , commissioned by Our Watch and Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety (ANROWS).
“Time and time again, national and international research – including this report – tells us that the public is heavily influenced by the way violence against women is portrayed in the media,” Our Watch Chief Executive Officer Mary Barry said.
“The Our Watch Awards acknowledge this level of influence. They are a chance to celebrate those journalists and outlets doing an exemplary job in reporting on violence against women and their children in Australia, and highlight best practice to others in the field.”
Journalist Jess Hill took out the inaugural Our Watch Gold award in 2015 after spending a year reporting exclusively on domestic violence. Her award winning entries included radio investigations for the ABC’s Background Briefing and long-form pieces published in The Monthly and The Guardian .
Other winners included the social media campaign ‘Destroy the Joint’ , the Sydney Morning Herald’s ‘ Shine a Light’ campaign and work by the Centre for Advancing Journalism’s student publication, The Citizen .
Entries are accepted in seven categories, including best news coverage, best series or special, best local/community journalism and best use of social media.
“We encourage media around the country to enter the Our Watch Awards and members of the community to prompt journalists to enter for outstanding work they’ve noticed, ” Ms Barry said.
Entries are open until 7 July 2016.