MANILA– Media workers, advocates, and civil society organizations discussed on November 28 the safety of women journalists as a “fundamental human rights concern.”
In a forum organized by the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) in observance of the International Day of Women Human Rights Defenders, various forms of gender-based violence were highlighted, including the increasing attacks against women journalists.
“Protecting women journalists is a human rights imperative,” said United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) country representative Neus Bernabeu in her message of support. The forum is part of CHR’s 18-Day Campaign to End Violence Against Women,
Gendered harassment in the workplace
As seasoned media workers, Bulatlat project staff Martha Teodoro and multimedia journalist Chiara Zambrano shared their reflections as they looked back on experiences that seemed isolated and normal trade-offs but were actually injustices within their spheres.
From story assignments to newsroom culture and practices, gendered undertones or microaggressions are often overlooked. Zambrano said that silence was the common denominator when she learned of similar experiences from fellow women journalists: “We were just not talking about it. Not even in hush tones. […] We were all caught in our own bubbles of shame.”
She said that the victims of the flawed culture include other media workers who may not be aware that they are perpetuating it.
Meanwhile, Teodoro shared extra measures she had to take to avoid instances of gendered attacks, such as bringing along her brother or a male friend when dispatched on the ground. She recounted the case of a Bulatlat contributor who experienced being singled out and targeted by a policeman as a woman journalist, despite being accompanied by a male colleague at the time.
Online attacks on student journalists
For campus journalists like Guillana David, a features staff from the Philippine Collegian, online intimidation is among the most common threats to their safety. She used as an example the red-tagging of the publication in the comment section of articles that are political in nature and her colleagues’ experience of receiving Facebook friend requests from uniformed personnel.
David lamented the lack of physical and psychological safety and support mechanisms available for student publications. “As student journalists, we really risk our lives everyday because we’re just doing volunteer work. We don’t really have mechanisms in place that protect us. […] We are funded, but then we don’t personally experience any help talaga that helps us when we go on the field.”
While David opined that online threats may not affect physical safety, she said that these attacks take a toll on their mental well-being which they are often forced to deal with alone.
Reshaping media culture
Zambrano said that an initiative called Movement for the Safety and Welfare of Women Journalists (We-Move) focuses on looking after the well-being of fellow women journalists. She said they ought to learn from young journalists in being more empathetic because senior journalists tend to be skeptical and questioning when victims open up about their experiences.
Teodoro encouraged advocates to work with a whole crew of practitioners (including women photographers and production assistants) and not just journalists, ensuring that present and future media workers can uphold their rights and know that no story is worth getting harmed.
Policy recommendations
The panelists stressed the need to have dialogues on culture and improve the implementation of the current laws that uphold journalist safety because even if legal protection is there, the repercussions and the resources that a victim must exhaust often make it inaccessible.
Representatives from the audience, CHR, and UNFP joined the conversation and suggested that journalists, institutions, and organizations work together to push back at a national and global level by fostering more collaborations, formalizing movements, facilitating training, and producing campaigns. (RTS, DAA)
Source: Open Newswire @ Women journalists’ safety as human rights issue
