In the report Women’s Rights: Forbidden Subject, released on International Women’s Day, RSF turned the spotlight on female journalists who have been covering women’s issues who have faced various forms of violence, such as murder, imprisonment, verbal attacks, physical attacks and online aggression.
The Safety of Women in Media is a Key Part of Realising our Vision
In order to advance the impact of women in media they must be safe to do their work. Violence against female journalists - physical or digital - is a double attack on their sex and their profession. IAWRT facilitates:
- Sharing of local experiences and strategies for safety of female media professionals.
- Focus on safety issues in web features, social media and our global documentary films.
- Safety training for chapters and in conferences by IAWRT Vice President, Abeer Saady.
- 'Training of Trainers' and providing resources for such safety ambassadors in this section.
- First edition of the Safety Handbook for Women Journalists (2017) arising from safety workshops
- Conditions of use for free resource What if ... ? SAFETY HANDBOK FOR WOMEN JOURNALISTS
Security and safety for journalists (especially for women journalists) is something that’s not taught in schools and rarely discussed in newsrooms. We learned the principles of journalism, the basics of newsgathering and other reporting skills and the tools for critical thinking and analysis but never how to prepare ourselves for threats and challenges we might encounter as women journalists.
The murder of journalist & activist, Gauri Lankesh at her home in Bengaluru, (Bangalore) the capital of the southern Indian state of Karnata, has again put the spotlight on the saftey of Indian journalists. The shooting of the well respected editor and critic of right-wing Hindu extremism has been condemned widely by media groups. more here
As a female in journalism, the Johannesburg workshop on safety training run by Egyptian journalist, and IAWRT board member, provided an opportunity to discover the best ways to deal with a wide range of safety concerns. A wealth of knowledge was shared, and it was very refreshing to hear the different experiences of all the ladies who participated in the workshop. more here