iMediaEthics wrote yesterday about the Alliance of Independent Journalists’ (AJI) recent study that reported gender bias in Indonesian media.  We heard back from the AJI with responses to our questions.

AJI’s program manager, Eva Danayanti, noted that AJI’s study isn’t the first one of its kind in Indonesia, citing studies by the National Women Commission of Republic Indonesia’s study two years ago.  What prompted AJI’s study was the group’s “concern with media reports on women issues.”

“Does the mass media can become agents of change for the view of stereotypes, discrimination, exploitative and violence against women, or just the opposite, whether the media will become an agent to perpetuate the biased views of gender. Mass media could become a bridge of society view which still saw women as objects, so that women in the media reality is often positioned low,” Danayanti wrote in an e-mail to iMediaEthics.

She explained that AJI, which has about 1,500 members (almost 300 of which are women), won’t lobby for ethics changes in Indonesia but hopes that “media and journalists awareness on gender perspective” will increase because of the survey.  According to Danayanti, AJI has passed its research on to various media outlets, journalists, activists and the government.

We also asked what ethics codes Indonesian journalists follow.  Danayanti said the KEJ (Kode Etik Journalist) is the Indoensian ethics code.

AJI also hosted a panel discussion following its survey publication.  Attending were 65 journalists, educators, government employees, NGO members and activists, Danayanti said.