As we have seen, violence results from a complex web of causes, including family and cultural traditions, male frustration and disempowerment. However many women do not report acts of violence committed by their husbands or partners for all sorts of reasons:

• many women do not know where to go for help
• many women hope that their husbands will change
• women are culturally conditioned to believe that a woman must keep the family together
• women are afraid of the social stigma that will be attached to them
• fear of being punished further
• victims of rape are not just young women, but children as young as three and women over fifty
• the highest percentage of rape cases are committed by relatives and friends
• women are often raped by the very authorities that they go to for help such as the police
• in conflict and war situations women are the most vulnerable to rape, often rape is used to control or punish the enemy

The media have an important role to play by accurately reporting cases of gender violence, taking care not to bring to the reporting stereotyped attitudes. Use the following guidelines when writing an article about gender violence:

• good research - investigate all sources and read up in advance
• always ask 'Why is this happening'. Look behind the event
• speak to multiple sources
• ask yourself 'Is this an isolated incident or is there a pattern'
• look for statistics - UN agencies, NGO's, police, academic studies etc
• look for the human story behind the statistics
• find out what lead to the violence. Is it a normal occurrence?
• look at state responsibility or accountability
• always ask 'What is being done to address the problem'
• remember, when you write your story keep it short and simple
• think carefully about the headline so that it doesn't perpetuate stereo-types
• always look at the other side of the story - go beneath the surface