What Press Freedom Looked Like in August 2020, For Women Journalist
The Coalition For Women In Journalism documented at least 81 cases of threats and violence against women journalists across the world during the month of August.
From arrests and detentions to physical assaults and online harassment, the different types of cases we identified in August made up approximately 20.7% of those documented during this year altogether. We documented at least 26 detentions in different countries around the world, 14 cases of attacks and impediments in the field, 12 women journalists were injured in the Beirut blasts, four cases of online harassment, four cases of women journalists being threatened with violence, five women journalists had legal charges pressed against them, and three were ripped off their accreditation in Belarus. In August, we also identified three sexual harassment cases, three cases of racial discrimination and harassment, two women journalists were arrested on different occasions, two were subjected to physical assault, and we also documented three different cases involving state oppression, sexism, and a journalist being expelled for their work.
This review report, including the total number of cases noted above, reflects some of the most prominent cases identified and documented by CFWIJ.
In August, Belarus, Lebanon and Pakistan were one of the most impacted countries where women journalists’ safety was at risk. We identified 33 cases in Belarus, seven cases in Pakistan and as a result of the devastating Beirut blasts and the protests that ensued, 12 women journalists in Lebanon were found impacted by injuries and attacks.
Uprising in Belarus: At least 33 women journalists found vulnerable to different threats.
Women journalists in Belarus were attacked, detained and arrested while reporting protests, which erupted after the first results were announced declaring Aleksander Lukashenko as the winner in the presidential elections held on August 10 by 80 %. Thousands of demonstrators in the capital Minsk protested on the grounds that the election was rigged. Around 3,000 people were arrested on the first day alone. They were beaten and journalists were not allowed to cover the events. In fact, they were being attacked and detained for their reporting. Dozens of websites, including those belonging to independent media such as Nasha Niva and Mediazona among others were blocked. CFWIJ also joined hands with organizations calling for the EU to reintroduce sanctions related to violations of media freedom in Belarus.
A full-time employee of the Current Time, Iryna Romaliiska, was detained two days ahead of Belarus’ presidential elections on August 7, for unclear reasons.
On August 9, five women journalists were detained and two were wounded. Natalia Lubnevskaya, a Nasha Niva newspaper journalist, was hit in the leg and rushed to the emergency room. She was hit by a rubber bullet. Many journalists, injured while reporting, were wearing vests with the inscription ‘Press’ and all of them had their press IDs.
Ekaterina Tkachenko of Belsat was detained by riot police while exiting her apartment. She was detained for three hours and the police also confiscated her phone. Ekatrina was later released without any official report.
Another Belsat reporter, Irina Slavnikova was also detained around the same hours in Minsk. She was also later released with no report.
TUT.BY journalists Angelica Vasilevskaya and Olga Kamyagina were detained in Mahilou and were not released until the following day.
Dar'ya Chultsova, freelance journalist was taken to the police station while she was covering the protests in Mahilou and was charged with violation of Article 22.9 of the Administrative Code. She was interrogated for 12 hours and was released on bail.
NRC correspondent Emilie van Outeren was injured the same day in Minsk. She sustained injuries on her thigh after being hit by a projectile fired at the protesters by security forces. Emilie later left for the Netherlands and given the circumstances, does not plan to return to Belarus.
On August 10, two women journalists were injured during attacks by the police and three were detained on charges of violating Article 23.34 of the Administrative Code regulating protests.
Belsat reporters Mariana Mauchanova, Elena Shcherbinskaya and Tatsiana Belashova were all detained on the basis of violating Article 23.34 and were not released until August 13. Belsat’s Minsk correspondent Tatiana Kapitonova was also injured around the same time while she was covering the police brutality near a metro station she was stunned by a light-noise grenade.
On August 11, photographer Nadezhda Buzhan - working for CivilForum.By - was stopped by the police and forced to turn in her memory card full of pictures with protestors. Alina Skarabunova, another journalist detained the same day who didn’t succumb to the pressure, is still under arrest and is facing five more days in detention under the country’s arbitrary criminal procedural law. Tamara Shchepetkina, a Radio Racyja correspondent, was also detained on the same grounds and is awaiting trial in a hospital due to her illness, suspected to be caused by the violence she endured during her detention.
Journalist Alena Scharbinskaya was hospitalized following the brutal beatings she was subjected to during her three-day detention in the now-infamous detention center “Akrestsin”.
On August 12, Liubou Luniova was detained and released without a report.
On August 23, Belarusian authorities in Minsk detained and later expelled Yulia Vishnevetskaya and her colleague, both of whom work for Radio Liberty's Russian-language service. They were held outside the entrance of the Tractor Plant while filming volunteers distributing leaflets among workers who rallied against Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka. The journalists were informed about being banned from entering Belarus for five years.
On August 27, the second wave of detention of journalists was initiated, leading up to the mass protests to be held in Minsk on August 30. The Belarusian Association of Journalists stated that 32 journalists - 10 among whom were women - were “detained” on August 27, for “document checks”. Some of the journalists were taken from their homes by masked special security forces, while others were impeded at work and taken to the police station in dozens. Nadezhda Buzhan (Nasha Niva), Ekaterina Andreeva (Belsat), Anastasia Reznikova (Belsat), Elena Vasilieva (Sputnik), Tatiana Zyankovich (EPA), Tatiana Karavenkova (BelaPAN), Alexandra Boguslavskaya (DW), Lisa Vereykina (BBC), Kate Peters (BBC) and Larissa Shchyrakova (Freelance) were among the women journalists.
On August 31, journalists working for different news agencies and foreign media had their accreditation stripped by authorities in Belarus. We identified at least three women journalists - BBC reporters Tatyana Melnichuk and Tatyana Yanutsevich, along with RFE/RL reporter Aleksandra Dynko - losing their permit to work in the country. They are now awaiting the Foreign Ministry’s decision following an appeal against the revocation.
Beirut blasts and its aftermath
In Lebanon’s Beirut city, multiple blasts near its port wreaked havoc on August 4. The impact of the explosions was so far-reaching that it killed over 180 people, injured thousands and left many people in the city homeless. Beirut blasts proved to be a devastating physical attack that left many women journalists, including CFWIJ member Hwaida Saad, injured. While the number of injured journalists could be greater, our documentation found that at least 12 journalists sustained injuries and 11 lost their homes in the aftermath of blasts.
Four days after the blasts on August 8, Beirutians took to the streets to protest the damage caused by the explosions and their government’s lack of responsibility following the catastrophe. Many women journalists, including CFWIJ fellow Luna Safwan, were injured while covering the protests. Read our in-focus coverage on women journalists affected in the aftermath of the Beirut blasts.
Campaign against online harassment of women in Pakistan
In Pakistan, CFWIJ signed a petition against online harassment of women journalists. The petition, which was initiated by a group of Pakistani women journalists, demanded the country’s government to combat online violence and hacking attempts against them. After the petition caught the attention of lawmakers, women journalists were invited to share their concerns with the parliament’s standing committee for human rights. During this meeting with the committee members, journalists shared their testimonies reflecting the atrocious harassment they face online.
Our members Marvi Sirmed and Gharidah Farooqi yet again faced online harassment and received death threats after posting their views on Twitter. We demanded authorities to ensure their security.
Pakistani journalists Mehmal Sarfraz shared the barrage of abuse she received on a daily basis for sharing her opinions on social media. Online harassers yet again replied with abuse and slurs to her tweet. To a point that one troll named Malik Khurram Khan Dehwar attacked her using a twitter thread calling Mehmal a traitor and questioned her loyalty.
Find more details on the Pakistan campaign on our in-focus page here.
High-profile journalist detained in China
CFWIJ also documented the detention of Cheng Lei, an Australian-Chinese anchor working for CGTN, by Chinese authorities. She was detained following the deteriorating relations between the two countries. According to Australia's foreign ministry, Cheng was detained on August 14 and was put under "residential surveillance at a designated location". She is at a risk of being imprisoned for up to six months without charge. However, her status is yet to be confirmed by Beijing. Cheng was given access to a virtual consular visit via video link, as stated by Australian foreign minister Marise Payne.
Charges pressed against women journalists each in Russia, Pakistan and Lebanon
CFWIJ documented three cases of legal charges pressed against journalists.
Anastasia Lotareva, the editor-in-chief of Takie Dela newspaper, was charged with a repeated violation of the order of the action and fined 200 thousand rubles by the Tverskoy District Court of Moscow for supporting journalist Ilya Azar, who was detained for 15 days on May 28. Anastasia participated in a solo picket at the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Petrovka with a poster supporting Ilya.
Another case was identified in Pakistan, where radio presenter Tehreem Muneeba - who won her sexual harassment case in May 2020 against her harassers, including her former employers - was slapped with a defamation case.
On August 19, 2020, TV anchor Dima Sadek, expressed her opinion about the Beirut blasts on her TV show “ By people’s name”. As a Lebanese, Dima was furious and wanted the government to present factual evidence about the explosion and to hold officials accountable. In retaliation to her inquiry, Nabih Berry and Bassil Jubran - speaker of the Lebanese parliament and president of the free patriot movement, respectively - said that they were suing Dima for “spreading false news” under the defamation law.
Physical assaults documented in Bulgaria and USA
Bulgarian journalists Polina Paunova and Genka Shikerova were physically assaulted on August 5, at Sofia’s Tech Park. They were covering a special national conference of the country’s Prime Minister Boyko Borissov’s GERB party.
On August 10, American journalist Laura Jedeed was stopped from filming an arrest by police. She was previously also arrested while filming an arrest on August 6.
Racial and sexual harassment in US news outlets
CFWIJ documented three different cases of racial harassment in the US.
CFWIJ identified publicly available grievances by former Bon Appetit staffers Priya Krishna and Sohla El-Waylly, who posted simultaneous announcements on their social media platforms about the racial discrimination they faced at the outlet. They wrote about their decisions as a result of their unsuccessful contract negotiations. Both Priya and Sohla alleged being offered unfair terms that would have paid them way less as compared to their White colleagues.
In another instance, a former Bloomberg News employee Nafeesa Sayeed sued Bloomberg and several of its leaders following allegations of racial and sexual harassment. She said that she suffered from “top-down systemic sex and racially biased discriminatory practices … against minority women.”
India’s landscape on threats to women journalists. Two cases each of physical assault and online harassment documented in the country.
In India, a crowd attacked three reporters - including a woman journalist, working with The Caravan, in upper east Delhi's North Ghonda neighbourhood. For around 90 minutes, the three reporters endured an onslaught of racist, islamophobic and sexist slurs, death threats. The woman journalist was also sexually harassed.
Delhi-based Indian journalist Sushmita Sinha’s video criticizing Hindu festival Teej created a furore on social media on August 26, with many calling for her arrest. She has also received death and rape threats.
Multiple sexual harassment cases filed by women journalists identified in Egypt
Hundreds of women journalists in Egypt issued a joint statement denouncing misogyny, extending solidarity to victims of sexual harassment and assault on August 21. Egyptian male journalist, Hisham Allam, has been at the center of assault allegations by five women. Hisham denied the allegations against himself and has threatened to take legal action against the accusers. However, several media outlets and journalist associations have decided to suspend their work with him.
Detentions renewed and new charges pressed against two women journalists in Egypt
The Supreme National Security Prosecution office in Egypt interrogated journalists Solafa Magdy and Esraa Abdelfattah in a new case over new allegations of “joining banned political groups and polarizing fellow inmates to join this group”. Solafa, Esraa and others were listed on this case initiated in 2020. The two have been detained in Egyptian prisons since October 2019.
One sexist attack documented in Pakistan
Pakistani sports journalist Alia Rashid and analyst Savera Pasha were subjected to a sexist attack by former Test cricketer Sikandar Bakht. His behaviour sparked a debate on the treatment and prejudice against women journalists in sports.
State oppression of press and journalists in Iran
One of Iran’s main independent dailies, Jehane Sanat was shut down by authorities after it published an interview with a government physician who said the country was covering up the extent of the coronavirus outbreak. Many women journalists are apparently affected following the daily’s shut down.
If you would like to request more insight into our findings, or would like to suggest an addition to our work reach out to us at data@womeninjournalism.org. For media inquiries reach out to us at press@womeninjournalism.org.