The Washington, DC-based International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF) has launched a global survey of security concerns for women journalists. The survey, created with the International News Safety Institute (INSI), will produce data on the challenges faced by women in news media around the world.
The survey is part of wider work initiated by UNESCO, which has a leading role within the UN system regarding the safety of journalists. It is being supported by the Austrian Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs, which has put the issue at the center of its efforts in the human rights field.
Elisa Lees Munoz, Executive Director of the IWMF, said: “In the past 22 years the IWMF has given its Courage in Journalism Award to more than 100 women from around the globe who have faced harassment, threats, physical attacks, kidnapping, imprisonment and worse to report the news. We know that the three women honored every year are representative of hundreds of others whose stories never come to light. This study will capture their experiences and help the IWMF to identify specific security needs among women journalists.”
The information collected from this study is to help the IWMF adopt what it terms solutions-oriented programming focused on preparing women to cover the news in dangerous and difficult circumstances.
The IWMF believes that news media worldwide are not truly free and representative without the equal voice of women. The IWMF marks the courage of women journalists who overcome threats and oppression to speak out on global issues. The IWMF’s programs empower women journalists with the training, support and network to become leaders in the news industry. To learn more about the IWMF and its Courage in Journalism Awards, visit iwmf.org/courage
INSI provides safety advice and training to male and female journalists working in dangerous situations. It published a book, No Woman’s Land – On the Frontlines with Female Reporters, and has recently started providing female specific safety training in some parts of the world, done by female trainers.
The survey can be accessed here
The deadline for its completion is September 20, 2013.
