Analyze

"What does the lack in prominence of environmental coverage in German TV tell us about the general state of environmental journalism in Germany? It is almost impossible to draw con- clusions based on hard facts and numbers.There is no national organization of professionals in the media dealing with this topic like the Society of Environmental Journalists in the USA, for instance.That means there are also no statistics about how many editors, reporters, or producers would count themselves as environmental journalists; nobody is keeping track. Communications scholars, when asked about the number of environmental journalists in Germany, reply with: “That’s something I would also like to know; tell me if you find out.”There is no formal educa- tion, and only a few training opportunities are offered for established writers and editors who want to specialize in the field. In recent years, some well-qualified and experienced reporters on newspapers with influential voices have departed (or been made to depart) the publishing houses or even journalism per se, leaving a noticeable gap." (Schrader 2020)

"Summarizing, environmental journalism in Germany appears to be in a transition phase. Many traditional media and press outlets are struggling to keep their business model or find a new one. And reporting on air quality, biodiversity, or the climate beyond their often-superficial implications for national politics is not high on the list of priorities. Much of the work might be shifting to online publishing in new contexts and organizations, but those are still forming and far from settled."

Miriam Ticktin is an associate professor of anthropology at The New School for Social Research, as well as the Co-Director of Zolberg Institute for Migration and Mobility. This indicates that she writes this article from an anthropologic perspective rather than with a biological or political viewpoint.

Women in some countries are much more familiar and used to rape, in fact, they will openly answer questions about it in front of others. There is debate as to whether rape should be treated the same as other humanitarian efforts, or differently, as each way has benefits and drawbacks for the feminist movements and for humanitarian workers. This pushes humanitarianism to a stage with politics, world progress, and other changes. They only meant to help those in need, but by using their work to see where changes can be made, the world will hopefully be a better place.

Most of the argument is developed through the  Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) essays and reactions to the compilation. Laws, humanitarian efforts, and wars are also studied.

"But more significantly, in addition to revealing the reproduction of inequality, the fissures rendered visible by the entry of gender-based violence into humanitarian missions force an engagement with new forms of the political. Humanitarianism’s mission has expanded so that it now occupies a dominant place in the global political arena – whether humanitarians asked for this or not"

"It seems that humanitarianism, as universalism,both erases and depends on difference; on the one hand, it manages difference, declawing it so that it doesn’t tear apart the humanitarian kit, made to fit and rehabilitate everyone into a basic bare-bones humanity. That is, it assumes that difference ultimately leads back to sameness: to some nondescript, generic human survival. Yet on the other hand, humanitarianism is necessarily built on difference – the difference between two populations – those who have the power to protect, and those who need protection66 – those who suffer, and those who recognise and address suffering"

"It seems that MSF workers assumed that sexual violence would bring a particular sort of shame, greater than that accompanying other forms of violence or brutality; and therefore that it should be kept quiet, confidential, in the private realm. This particular approach stems from the historically and culturally situated belief that a woman’s chastity is her most precious possession and that sexual violence is more significant than other forms of violence – of course,the question is whether it is equally significant for female and male, straight and queer."

Most of the data came from the MSF book of essays as well as other humanitarian aid studies and data.

Emergency response is not directly addressed in this article, however there is likely some emergency response occuring in the countries that are needing the humanitarian aid. Hopefully the first responders there are well trained in responding to victims of sexual assault if that is something that they see more often, if it is something that people would call an ambulance for in those areas.

Many of the citations are from the MSF compilation, but others are clearly other studies or research articles. They are all from the past 20 years or so, since humanitarian and womens' sexual rights gained popularity and momentum around that time.

I followed up by looking at rape rates across the world, how rape is regarded in different countries, and when humanitarian aid started.

Miriam Ticktin is a professor of anthropology and co-director of Zolberg Institute for Migration and Mobility. She has a PhD in social sciences from Stanford and has many recent publications, all focused around immigration and humanitarianism, mainly overseas, as well as social research in these areas.

http://www.newschool.edu/nssr/faculty/?id=4d54-6379-4e44-4d35