ACP’s Madison wins media award
Women’s magazine Madison has picked up best magazine report at the Eliminating Violence Against Women Media Awards – for its investigation into sexual assaults on women by taxi drivers.
The announcement:
June 17, 2011
madison magazine is proud to have won Best Magazine Report/Article at the 2011 Eliminating Violence Against Women Media Awards (EVAs) held at the Melbourne Town Hall on Friday, June 10.
How Will You Get Home Tonight?, written by madison’s Senior Feature Writer, Clair Weaver, and published in the July 2010 issue of madison, was an investigation into a spate of sexual assaults by taxi drivers on female passengers in Australia. In the article, Clair explored why more isn’t being done to prevent these attacks, what industry measures could be taken to reduce risk and the debilitating impact society’s prejudices can have on victims.
The 2011 EVA Awards, which are funded by the Victorian Government as part of their broader Prevention Strategy against domestic violence, saw a dramatic increase in entries, including those from some of the country’s finest journalists.
The judges commented: “Clair’s feature demonstrates high quality and well researched journalism. This well-written piece exposes a rarely discussed aspect of violence against women. It places the issue in a broader national context and highlights the impact of negative community attitudes. Clair has reported the young woman’s story sensitively, while advocating for societal change and acknowledging the important role of the justice system.”
Honoured VIPs attended the EVAs, including: The Hon Mary Wooldridge MP (Vic), Minister for Women’s Affairs; former Chief Justice of the Family Court of Australia and Chair of the National Centre against Bullying, The Hon Alastair Nicholson AO RFD QC; Victorian Assistant Commissioner of Police Wendy Steendam, and; Assistant Commissioner of Crime Graham Ashton.
Elizabeth Renkert, Editor of madison, said: “Speaking up on behalf of women who have been subjected to violence is something we wish we didn’t have to do but, even in 2011, many female victims of crime are still unheard. madison is committed to ensuring women’s stories are told and heard. With a circulation of more than 89,000, and 214,000 readers each month, we can give a loud voice to issues affecting women.”
Assistant Commissioner Wendy Steendam said that every single day police are seeing the immense impact that violence against women has on the community.
“It is imperative that everyone in our community realises that violence against women has profound effects on people’s lives – it is a serious crime and is not acceptable under any circumstances,” Ms Steendam said.
“Victoria Police works extremely hard to respond to this issue and strongly supports strategies that are targeted toward early intervention in, and prevention of, violence against women.
“The media plays a crucial role in educating the public on the issue and the EVAs is a fantastic initiative working towards changing attitudes around violence against women.”
Minister for Women’s Affairs Mary Wooldridge said the work of the EVAs recipients will change the way people think about issues concerning violence against women.
“On behalf of the Victorian Coalition Government I congratulate all the winners of EVAs for their dedication to responsible reporting. Their stories have been presented in a reasonable, non-sensational manner and play a pivotal role in challenging and changing attitudes towards violence against women,” Ms Wooldridge said.
About Clair Weaver
Clair Weaver is madison’s Senior Features Writer. She has been a journalist for 11 years, starting out as a flight attendant writing news stories for British Airways publications on her days off. After a couple of years cutting her teeth on local newspapers, she landed a job on Fleet Street’s London Evening Standard. Here she learned the arts of convincing people to tell their side of the story and investigating controversial issues. In 2005, she returned home to Australia and joined The Sunday Telegraph, where she became health writer and broke several front-page scandals. One year ago, Clair joined madison to pursue her love of feature writing.
Clair’s recent articles for madison include:
•The Rise of Female Gambling Addiction, which drew attention to the troubling trend of more women becoming problem gamblers
•A Veiled Threat, where Clair went undercover in a burqa for a day to find out what daily life is really like behind the veil and whether its reputation as a symbol of female oppression is deserved
•Sex, Drugs and …Lies?, a report on the race to produce a female Viagra, and which questioned whether pharmaceutical companies are manufacturing conditions to be cured
•Undercover at a Gay Cure Group, where Clair enrolled incognito in a religious group-run programme claiming to ‘correct’ homosexuality
•How Could You Keep This a Secret?, which detailed why some women have hidden a pregnancy from family and friends
•How Anna Became Andy, the story of a young woman’s transgender to become a man
Source: ACP Magazines press release
Congrats! I’ve always thought Madison was a cut above the other women’s fashion magazines. Smart writing and beautiful layouts… this magazine is under-recognized.
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