Queer Cyprus Association

Diversity of Colours Project

Annual Media Monitoring Report

June 2020 – June 2021

As Queer Cyprus; We fight for equal access to human rights for all persons of all sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression, whether lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, intersex or beyond (LGBTI+). Being aware of the important role of the press in this struggle, we have been conducting the Media Monitoring and Reporting process since 2015. First of all, we published the 2015-2017 Media Monitoring Report and the LGBTI-Focused News Writing Guide for Media Workers, and we trained many members of the press. Then, as a result of the media monitoring we continued between 2019-2020, we published an annual Media Monitoring Report.

Social awareness and transformation are time-consuming processes, but we can see that the language of the press has transformed and LGBTI+ inclusive news is increasing in return for our efforts on this long journey.

As part of the Diversity of Colours Project that we started in December 2018, we monitored 2 print and 3 online newspapers between June 2020 and June 2021 and we are proud to share the results with you. We would like to thank Ziba Sertbay, who contributed greatly by reading newspapers on a daily basis, organizing and compiling monthly reports and forming the annual report you hold today, and everyone who helped her through this process. We believe in the transformative power of the press, and while preparing these reports, we question not only the current situation, but also how to do more inclusive and human rights-sensitive reporting. We would like to remind you that even a single negative news article can cause permanent damage to LGBTI+ people and lead to violations of rights in many areas. I hope you have a fun and instructive reading.

Erman Dolmacı

Diversity of Colours Project Coordinator

To download the report please click here: Media Monitoring 2021