On Human Rights Day, CFWIJ Calls For Strengthened Policies To Protect Women Journalists
Today marks the 72nd anniversary of Human Rights Day. Coming to the end of the United Nations’ 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence campaign, The Coalition For Women In Journalism (CFWIJ) raises its deepest concern for the neglect of women journalists’ fundamental rights and freedoms around the world. On Human Rights Day, we call for a revision of policies to better protect the safety and well-being of women journalists.
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CFWIJ conducted an online campaign within the scope of 16 Days of Activism. We interviewed distinguished journalists from around the world and hosted Instagram live broadcasts to feature the insights and experiences of women in the field. We organized an online panel on December 7th with veteran journalists and industry leaders to understand and combat violence against women journalists.
On December 7th, CFWIJ conducted a webinar about combating violence against women journalists. CFWIJ founder, Kiran Nazish, was joined by panelists Nasha Zakharevich, a freelance journalist from Belarus, Nazenin Ansari, Iranian journalist and managing editor of Kayhan London, Kirstin McCudden, managing editor of the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker and Shaimaa Abo Elkhir, advocacy and media officer of the Committee for Justice. These incredible experts shared the types of threats that female reporters face and their ideas on how to tackle these challenges.
⚡️ “Human Rights Day 2020”
— #WomenInJournalism (@CFWIJ) December 10, 2020
On Human Rights Day, CFWIJ calls for a revision of policies to better protect the safety and well-being of women journalists.https://t.co/brXPOwlJOF
We spoke to Paisley Dodds, investigative journalists for The New Humanitarian. CFWIJ’s Engagement Coordinator Katia Mierzejewska spoke to Paisley’s rich and outstanding experience in journalism, including her coverage of the end of the Apartheid in South Africa. The journalist described the field of investigative reporting, including her coverage on sexual abuse perpetrated by workers in the aid sector and humanitarian organizations.
We also had a splendid conversation with Paula Maria Saucedo Ruiz, prevention coordinator for Article 19 Mexico. The conversation revolved around the surge in violence against women in Mexico and the deterioration of press freedom across the country, including intensified attacks on journalists.
Alice Taylor, a British freelance journalist based in Albania and author of the blog, The Balkanista, shared her experience on reporting on crime and politics in an increasingly hostile environment. Alice was targeted in a harmful smear campaign launched by pro-government media in Albania after holding interviews about national protests with various international media, including controversial Russia TV. Thereafter, she was accused of being a Russian spy and the malicious threats that ensued forced her to temporarily deactivate her Facebook page. Her residence permit was nearly revoked and she could not leave the house due to safety concerns. At the tumultuous time she was targeted, Alice was afraid of losing her baby during her pregnancy.
Investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia was killed when a bomb was remotely detonated underneath her car in October 2017. Since then, her family is still fighting for justice. While speaking to CFWIJ Daphne’s sister, Corinne Vella, expressed her sister’s dedication to her work: “When you report on high-level crime involving people in power and building your transnational money flows and nothing happens to the people you mentioned, you know you are the last person standing between the rule of law and its collapse. That was a very dangerous place. Nobody needs to actually make a call and threaten you, you know it's dangerous. But the pressure didn’t stop Daphne” she added.
As the protests sparked by the killing of George Floyd spread across the United States, countless journalists have been affected by tear gas, pepper spray and even being shot with pepper balls and rubber bullets. This tense atmosphere has been further fuelled by the prolonged election season. Stephanie Sugar, a reporter for U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, underlined the surge in police violence against journalists. Stephanie spoke to CFWIJ about the deterioration of press freedom in the country. She shed light on examples of women journalists who were injured and impeded at work while covering Black Lives Matter protests and post-election rallies.
So far in 2020, CFWIJ has documented over 701 threats against women journalists worldwide. There were 138 physical attacks and impediments in the field, 44 sexist attacks, 37 physical assaults, 24 threats of violence/intimidation and three murders. These threats are not limited to physical violence, several journalists face forms of harassment: 78 online troll campaigns, 24 incidents of sexual harassment, 23 incidents of workplace harassment and 18 incidents of verbal harassment. Women journalists are also targeted by the authorities with 97 detentions, 92 cases of legal harassment, 51 arrests, 40 cases of state oppression, four accounts of torture while imprisoned and two journalists deported. Discrimination is not uncommon either, with eight reports of gender discrimination and ten reports of racial discrimination. Four journalists had their accreditation revoked, two have been abducted this year, while two journalists are still missing.
Based on the data CFWIJ obtained so far, at least one female journalist faces an attack or threat against them every day. Compared to last year, physical assault by women journalists has increased by 40 percent. During this period, we organized various events and campaigns to raise awareness of violence against women journalists around the world.
In April, the negative effects of the Covid-19 outbreak contributed to an unprecedented level of violence against women journalists across the globe. We have witnessed how the lack of financial resources and the danger of deportation negatively affect the productivity and endurance of women journalists. We also stressed the economic crisis and the vulnerability that the freelance women journalists faced in such uncertain times. Many journalists died in the pandemic due to insufficient protective measures and inadequate health care.
In August, CFWIJ joined the "Attacks Won't Silence Us" campaign in Pakistan. In line with this campaign, we drew attention to the online smear campaigns that targeted women journalists and the severe consequences they encountered. On our website, we provided resources to assist journalists, including legal remedies that journalists could use in the case of a possible threat or attack. We also launched a social media campaign under the hashtag #ThreatToWIJ to highlight the impact and real-life implications of online violence against our female colleagues.
CFWIJ aims to highlight the rise of violence that female journalists suffer both on the ground and online platforms. We speak up against the violation of journalists' fundamental rights and freedoms. We call on the authorities to create an environment that adheres to the UN's strategic plans to combat violence, and that meets the criteria of free and independent journalism. We demand social media platforms develop new tools and policies to combat online smear campaigns to ensure the safety of women journalists. On this special day, we reiterate that the current climate for journalists fails to meet human rights standards, and we demand strengthened policies to be implemented against such negligence.
