Part 2:
Reporting Principles
Alignment with the Declaration on Women’s Sex-Based Rights:
Refer to a specific Article of the Declaration on Women’s Sex-Based Rights when applicable, and use the language from the Declaration as a guide. For example, “The Idaho law is consistent with Article 7 of the Declaration on Women’s Sex-Based Rights, which reaffirms women’s rights to the same opportunities as men to participate actively in sports and physical education, in that it prohibits males from competing as females on the basis of sex.”
Names & Pronouns:
When reporting on anyone who claims to be the opposite sex, use the correct sex pronoun. If the person has changed her or his legal name, use the new legal name and include a reference to the person’s previous name. For instance: “Rachel Levine (formerly known as Richard) currently serves as the 17th Assistant Secretary for Health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).”
Using They or Their as a Singular Pronoun:
“They” refers to a group of more than one individual. When “they” is used as the personal pronoun of someone whose sex is known, this usage obscures reality and creates confusion. People who call themselves “non-binary” often insist that “they” be used in place of a sex-based singular pronoun. Instead, always refer to an individual using an accurate, sex-based pronoun. Use “her or his” where someone’s sex is not known.
Use of Qualifiers:
- Biological as a prefix, as in ‘biological woman’: NO
To qualify a person’s sex by adding “biological” implies that there is another kind of person that is that sex. Simply use the accurate, sex-based word to refer to each person: woman, man, girl, or boy.
- Cisgender, Cis woman, Cis man: NO
To qualify a person’s sex by adding “cisgender” or “cis” implies that there is another kind of person that is that sex. Simply use the accurate, sex-based word to refer to each person: woman, man, girl, or boy.
- Feminist/Feminism: YES
Feminism is a political advocacy movement for the liberation of the sex class women. However, there are disagreements about what constitutes liberation. For this reason, it is a good idea to add a descriptor or qualifier to denote which sect of feminists you are referring to. Those who promote the idea that some men are women should not be referred to as feminists.
Perspective – Naming the Perpetrator:
When reporting on violence against women, avoid using a passive voice, which erases men as perpetrators, and obscures reality. Put the perpetrator in the active role.
| Instead of this | Use this |
| The woman was raped by sex traffickers and left unconscious on the beach. | Sex traffickers raped the woman and left her unconscious on the beach. |
“In every case, if we say men who kill women, men who rape women, men who rape children, men who pretend to be women… it’s only by doing that really clearly that we even begin to get a picture of patriarchy.” – Julia Long
Correcting Misrepresentations:
It is common to find headlines that confuse readers about the content of the story. For instance, it is common for reporters to write that a man who says he’s a woman is “a woman” when he has committed a heinous crime, and that a man who says he’s a woman is a “trans woman” when he has been victimized. Always report on stories involving incidents of male violence consistently with this Manual. Clearly identify a male perpetrator as a man (or boy in the case of minors) and refer to men as men, using the correct sex pronouns.
