Press freedom and the space for independent media are under threat, as stipulated in various UN resolutions addressing journalist safety. UN Sectary-General Guterres stated that ‘civic space has been shrinking worldwide at an alarming rate. And with anti-media rhetoric on the rise, so too are violence and harassment against journalists, including women … When media workers are targeted, societies as a whole pay a price.’ Governments practise legal intimidation and censorship of dissenting voices, also in the digital space. Criminal gangs threaten those who report on corruption. The result is that journalists exercise self-censorship, leave the profession, disappear into exile or stay silent. This is a deliberate attack on civic space that requires a cross-cutting approach to safety of journalists.
This Safety Resource Space is the place to find information on the safety of journalists. It includes information on Free Press Unlimited’s safety-related activities, background information on the safety of journalists, practical resources, and best practices and examples of successful projects and approaches.
Explore the following topics:
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Free Press Unlimited believes that a safe work environment is a basic need for independent media. It is imperative that journalists carry out their work free from violence and free from obstruction. A commitment to safety cuts across all of Free Press Unlimited’s activities.
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Free Press Unlimited believes that safety should be approached as a comprehensive concept that has physical, psycho-social, digital and legal dimensions. As these dimensions of safety impact on each other, it is important to adopt an inclusive approach, that also takes gender into account.
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Free Press Unlimited directs its efforts to address safety along four different pillars, being support to journalists in distress, capacity development, tools and resources, and advocacy and campaigning.
![Credit: Romy van den Boogaart](https://kq.freepressunlimited.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/RS1419_Freepress-HR-4622-1024x684.jpg)
Free Press Unlimited’s work on the safety of journalists builds upon a number of key international instruments, which reflect international commitments to further the safety of journalists.
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Free Press Unlimited works together with other like-minded organisations in a number of international networks and coalitions in order to contribute towards journalist safety, both locally and internationally.
Evidence base: Safety of journalists
Source | Year | Country | Organisation | Author |
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Safety of Women Journalists in Bosnia-Herzegovina: Perceptions, Experience and Understanding of Safety and Gendered Safety Risks | 2022 | Bosnia-Herzegovina | Free Press Unlimited | Aziz, M., Josimovic, N. & Mednansky, A. |
Equally Safe: Towards a Feminist Approach to the Safety of Journalists | 2022 | Global | Article 19 | Robinson, J. & Yoshida, K. |
Reset Required? Evaluatinging the Media Freedom Coalition after its first two years | 2022 | Global | University of East Anglia, City University of London and University of the Philippines-Diliman | Myers, M; Scott, M; Bunce, M; Yassin, L; Fernandez, M.C.; Khan, R. |
Protection of Journalists: Safety and Justice in Latin America and the Caribbean | 2022 | Latin America | Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas | |
The Chilling: A Global Study of Online Violence Against Women Journalists | 2022 | Global | International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) | |
Improving Monitoring for Crimes Against Journalists: Report on Monitoring Workshop | 2022 | Colombia, Costa Rica, Indonesia, Lebanon, North Macedonia, Oman, Serbia, Somalia | Free Press Unlimited | Aziz, M. & Willems, L. |
Journalists’ Views and Perceptions on Judicial Transparency: A Comparative Study in Three Western Balkans Countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia and Serbia | 2022 | Bosnia-Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Serbia | Research Institute on Social Development (RESIS) | Trpevska, S. |
Journalists’ Experience and Views on Judicial Transparency in Serbia | 2022 | Serbia | Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (IJAS) | Petrovic Skero, V. |
Investigating the killing of Elisabeth Blanche Olofio | 2022 | Central African Republic | Free Press Unlimited | A Safer World For The Truth |
A Mental Health Guide for Journalists Facing Online Violence | 2022 | Global | International Women's Media Foundation (IWMF) | Zellhuber Pérez A. M. & Segarra Pérez, J. C. |
Gender Violence Against Journalists | 2022 | Brazil | Abraji | |
Journalists’ Experience and Views on Judicial Transparency in Bosnia and Herzegovina | 2022 | Bosnia-Herzegovina | Association of BH Journalists | Džihana, A. |