International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists is being marked with the launch of a new initiative aimed at protecting the media in their work.
To mark the international day on 1 November, the National Union of Journalists, NUJ, has launched its new Journalists’ Safety Tracker.
This, it says, aims to “capture incidents of harassment, abuse and lawfare” many in the trade have encountered during the course of journalists’ work.”
Figures show that:
· 117 journalists were killed in 2020-2021.
· In 2020 and 2021, Latin America and the Caribbean accounted for 38% of killings, followed by Asia and the Pacific with 32% of killings.
· Only 14 percent of cases of crimes against journalists are currently considered judicially resolved.
· In 2021, the percentage of women among all journalists killed almost doubled, rising to 11% from 6% the previous year.
Michelle Stanistreet, NUJ General Secretary, told this site, “Collating evidence of such experiences is crucial to the union’s engagement with governments when calling for improved protections and the data will also support the union’s ongoing campaigning in this area.”
“It will give those in the industry a chance to log any future incidents as they occur.”
The incident logs are not, she said, a substitute for reporting harassment/attacks to the police and to an employer or engagers and the union continues to encourage all members to make such complaints.
“However having improved data on the scale of this scourge will help us and other stakeholders do more to stamp out such behaviour.”
She added, “We continue to condemn the unacceptable violence and abuse faced by journalists whether targeted online or in-person.
“We stress that safety must remain top of the agenda for governments and key stakeholders, to protect journalists and ensure journalism can thrive.”
The launch of the Journalists’ Safety Tracker is a “landmark” moment she said, adding, “but our work with employers and engagement with parliamentarians and the police continues.
“No journalist should be intimidated, harassed or attacked simply for doing their job.
“I call for the perpetrators of crimes against journalists to be held to account, at home and abroad.”
The union wants others to “stand in solidarity with journalists around the world attacked or killed as a direct result of their work as we collectively mark International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists.”
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) also insists that national governments are held accountable when journalists are killed or targeted across the world, in particular those in Palestine, Lebanon, Israel, and Syria as a result of the war in Gaza.
further info: www.journalistsafetytracker.org.uk
