In advising women to go for antenatal care, Trephine Anecho of Radio Paidha only meant to promote health in her community but violence is what some members of her audience reaped. Is it her fault that things turned out badly in the homes? Could she have done more to minimise the harm? “I wouldn’t blame her at all. Maybe somebody needs to supplement her efforts, like the organisations working in HIV in Paidha. Antenatal care and an HIV test help both the mother and the baby,†said Mr Alex Atuhaire, news editor, the Daily Monitor. In fact, Atuhaire believes that Anecho deserves an award for tackling such an issue.“Target the men,†Ms Florence Buluba, a Programme Officer with the International Community of Women with HIV/AIDS advises journalists, “because it is not bad for someone to know their HIV status.†Buluba says the problem stems from Uganda’s patriarchal society. In a male-dominated society, a wife who has to break such news to her husband often risks such violence. “It is a big challenge that we need to address because our culture promotes the male ego,†said Ms Buluba.
Usually, men don’t go with their wives for antenatal care. At the antenatal clinics women are counseled, tested and given HIV results. As a result, they are the ones to deliver the news to their unprepared male partners. In many cases, men react by quickly blaming their partners for bringing the disease. Buluba notes that even after science has proven that circumcision lowers chances of catching STDs, women have to seek the consent of their partners before getting children circumcised, some of whom refuse outright.  Â
Buluba advises journalists to have a good grasp of their subject and gather all the facts.
“Anecho should have approached it by asking, how can the men get involved?†she said, and added, “if they [men] cooperated with their wives by going along for antenatal, if they agreed to voluntary counseling and testing, the reaction wouldn’t be as hostile if a positive diagnosis comes up.â€
Are there issues journalists shouldn’t report because they may be misunderstood? Mr Atuhaire gives a resounding ‘no’. He says journalists should report everything that revolves around society. “There is no story that is a no-go for journalists; the challenge should be how to report it.â€
Mr Atuhaire also says it not a reporter’s fault if a story has a negative effect. Obviously if you go out to report and something is not true and somebody gets into problems, a journalist should take responsibility, he says. But he adds: “But if you report the truth and somebody gets into problems it’s not the responsibility of journalists. Their role is to report what they see.â€
Still, the level of professionalism in journalism in the country is still wanting and many reporters cannot be trusted to report stories accurately. Some institutions are doing responsible journalism while for others, quality is a major concern. Mr Atuhaire says many media houses, most especially radios, leave a lot to be desired as far as public affairs reporting is concerned. Ms Buluba says a journalist’s job has its risks. Incidents such as the one in which women are directing their frustration towards Ms Anecho, come with the job, she argues
