Civil society pleads for sexism-free advertising

A campaign to raise public awareness in response to the sexist and discriminatory images of women in advertising has been launched in Chisinau at a news conference today. The project of eliminating sexist stereotypes from TV and outdoor advertising, which affect the image and dignity of women, is implemented by the “Casa Marioarei” NGO in partnership with the Forum of Women NGOs from Moldova, with the financial support of Soros Foundation Moldova and SIDA. The project aims to draw the attention of the decision makers to the flood of sexist stereotypes in advertising with a view to establishing a mechanism of detecting and eliminating them. For this purpose, the women NGOs call for a national authority that would monitor and promote specific standards in advertising. The organisers pointed out that Moldova has a good legal framework as regards the protection of women’s rights and advertising, but they are not working properly. According to the director of “Casa Marioarei” Tatiana Tofan, mass media and civil society have to assume the role of a filter for advertising in order to keep it ethically correct and respectful of the general public. Tatiana Tofan said that the use of sexist images in advertising leads to alcoholism, smoking and promiscuity among women, domestic violence caused by alcohol addiction and trafficking in women. The president of the Forum of Women NGOs from Moldova Elena Burca said that the society has to become aware of the fact that the image of women in advertising is emblematic and represents each woman in Moldova. The 10-months campaign will include roundtables and public debates with decision makers, opinion polls and informational materials on the topic.