Chera Draws a Line: Abuse Against Women Is Not Entertainment

Violence against women should never be normalized for entertainment. One vertical platform has now put that principle in writing.

Chera has stated that its original stories will not normalize women being slapped, beaten or abused. In a format built on heightened conflict and relentless cliffhangers, that is a meaningful editorial commitment, and it raises a question every other platform now has to answer.

The tension in the format

Vertical drama runs on escalation. Episodes end on a slap, a threat, a reveal. The genres that perform best, from billionaire romance to revenge thrillers, lean on power imbalances and intense confrontation. None of that requires degrading women, but the shortcuts are tempting when a writers’ room has to deliver eighty episodes in a few weeks.

The question Chera’s stance puts to the industry is practical: how do platforms tell intense stories without presenting abuse as a normal part of romance? The answer is a craft question as much as an ethical one. Conflict can come from stakes, secrets and consequence rather than from a man’s hand.

The association’s position

VPAA’s production standards treat depictions of violence as a matter for editorial policy, not an afterthought left to individual productions. The association supports a shared industry baseline: no platform should present abuse of women as a normal feature of a romantic relationship, and platforms should state their position publicly, as Chera has.

Should every vertical platform adopt the same standard? The association believes the ones that intend to be around in five years will.