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.
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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.
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.
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.
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.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Return of Digital Authoritarianism: Internet Shutdowns in 2021 | 2022 | Global | Access Now | |
| 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 |