Photo exhibition: Safety of women journalists
Violence is a form of censorship. Worldwide, journalists face harassment, imprisonment, violence, or even death - simply for doing their jobs. Studies have shown that women journalists are targeted online significantly more than their male colleagues. Who are these women? What are their stories? What inspires them to keep going? Now, Free Press Unlimited, together with the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Human Rights in the Picture, organises an exhibition that tells these women's stories.
The exhibition aims to initiate a conversation with governments and other stakeholders in the media industry on enhancing the protection of women journalists. By highlighting the stories behind the faces of women journalists, but also by visualizing the important work that has been done in this field by organisations like UNESCO and Free Press Unlimited. The exhibition runs from 24 till 28 April at UNESCO in Paris, but the stories can all be read online.
1 in 5 women journalists have been attacked offline in connection with online abuse.
Women journalists
While many journalists experience (online) violence, women journalists are disproportionately targeted by it. On top of that, the violence they experience is gender-based, meaning it’s sexist and misogynistic. This can vary from receiving hateful messages and rape threats, to actual physical attacks. Next to physical harm, this type of (online) violence against women journalists causes severe psychological harm like stress and feelings of isolation, and can also lead to self-censorship. This means that there is less diversity in the news and that essential information cannot reach the wider public which directly impacts press freedom.
One in three women journalists even considers leaving the profession because of (online) violence.