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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Latest updates
New report on internet shutdowns
Access Now launched its new report for the #KeepItOn campaign on internet shutdowns in 2021. More information on internet shutdowns and digital safety more broadly can be found here.
New online course
A new course was launched on the Totem platform: Human Rights Documentation.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Investigating the killing of Elisabeth Blanche Olofio | 2022 | Central African Republic | Free Press Unlimited | A Safer World For The Truth |
| Gender Violence Against Journalists | 2022 | Brazil | Abraji | |
| Journalism is a public good | 2022 | Global | UNESCO | Berger, G. et al. |
| The Chilling: What More Can News Organisations Do to Combat Gendered Online Violence? | 2022 | Global | UNESCO | Posetti, J. & Shabbir, N. |
| The Chilling: Assessing Big Tech’s Response to Online Violence Against Women Journalists | 2022 | Global | UNESCO | Posetti, J., Bontcheva, K. & Shabbir, N. |
| 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. |
| Safe. Strong. Viable. The Symbosis Between Media Safety and Media Viability | 2021 | Burkina Faso, Lebanon, Mexico, Philippines | Deutsche Welle Akademie | Aldenrath, P. et al. |
| Investigating the killing of journalist Regina Martínez Pérez | 2021 | Mexico | Free Press Unlimited | A Safer World For The Truth |
| Investigating the killing of journalist Zubair Mujahid | 2021 | Pakistan | Free Press Unlimited | A Safer World For The Truth |
