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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Women Journalists and Freedom of Expression: Discrimination and gender-based violence faced by women journalists in the exercise of their profession | 2018 | Americas | Inter-American Commission on Human Rights | Lanza, E. |
| Women’s Rights: Forbidden Subject | 2018 | Global | Reporters Without Borders (RSF) | Reporters Without Borders (RSF) |
| Safety training for journalists in Central America | 2018 | El Salvador | Free Press Unlimited | Free Press Unlimited |
| Help desk improves the safety of journalists in Nepal | 2018 | Nepal | Free Press Unlimited | Free Press Unlimited |
| Internal Evaluation Somalia Country Programme (Pilot) | 2018 | Somalia | Free Press Unlimited | Pavicic, M. |
| Daphne Caruana Galizia: Malta’s ‘one-woman WikiLeaks’ | 2018 | Malta | Free Press Unlimited | Free Press Unlimited |
| Journalists and Safety Training: Experiences and Opinions | 2017 | Global | Dart Center for Journalism & Trauma Research Lab | Shapiro, B. (Ed.) |
| Tracker Registers Violence against Journalists in Nigeria | 2017 | Nigeria | Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism (PTCIJ) | Free Press Unlimited |
| Journalism in the Central African Republic not without danger | 2017 | Central African Republic | Free Press Unlimited | Schilder, J. |
| A Changing Asian Media: Assessing Challenges and Opportunities for Evolving Media in South and Southeast Asia | 2017 | South and Southeast Asia | International Media Support (IMS) | International Media Support (IMS) |
| An Attack on One is an Attack on All: Successful Initiatives to Protect Journalists and Combat Impunity | 2017 | Global | UNESCO/IPDC | Kilman, L. |
| CAR Reporters Flee for Their Lives | 2017 | Central African Republic | Free Press Unlimited | Schilder, J. |