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.
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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 |
---|---|---|---|---|
Sexual Harassment in the Media | 2021 | Africa | WAN-IFRA | Ireton, C. |
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 |
Journalists’ Experience and Views on Judicial Transparency in North Macedonia | 2021 | North Macedonia | Association of Journalists of Macedonia | Pashoski, D. |
Global Toolkit for Judicial Actors: International Legal Standards on Freedom of Expression, Access to Information and Safety of Journalists | 2021 | Global | UNESCO | Barata Mir, J. & C. Botero |
Evaluation report of the Money Trail project | 2021 | Global | Impactrack & Bureau TIJ | Becker, S. et al. |
First Quarterly Report | 2021 | Global | Coalition for Women in Journalism (CWFIJ) | Nazish, K. et al. |
Media Pluralism Monitor 2020 | 2020 | Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Eastern Europe, Estonia, Europe, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, United Kingdom | Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom (CMPF), European University Insitute | Brogi, E. et al. |
Journalism in Bangladesh during Corona Pandemic | 2020 | Bangladesh | South Asia Center for Media in Development (SACMID) | Sultana, A. et al. |
Breaking the Silence | 2020 | Europe | Index on Censorship | Mhainín, J.N. |
A Gathering Storm: The Laws Being Used to Silence the Media | 2020 | Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Europe, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom | Index on Censorship | Mhainín, J.N. |