Theme- Chat GBV: Raising Awareness on AI-facilitated Gender-Based Violence against Women Journalists.
The International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists (IDEI) is a UN-recognised day observed annually on November 2. The day highlights the persistently high level of Impunity for crimes committed against journalists worldwide.
Every year’s commemoration is to reinforce the key themes and messages related to the overall fight against Impunity and provide an opportunity for stakeholders including member states, civil society, media and various coalition to reaffirm their commitment to the implementation of the UN Plan of action for safety of Journalists and the issue of Impunity.
The IDEI commemoration has also been an occasion for releasing data and highlights of the UNESCO’s Director-General’s report on Safety of Journalists, every biennium, along with other relevant publications and data. Various stakeholders have also leveraged IDEI as an occasion to raise awareness about the fight against Impunity by engaging in different activities such as candle light procession, pen parade, interactive sessions, making the case for the need for a safer environment for journalists.
This year’s edition of IDEI focuses on “Safety of Journalists, Artificial Intelligence and Technology -Facilitated Gender-Based Violence Against Women Journalists”.
Digital transformation has created new opportunities for expression of activism, while also giving rise to heightened risks. Women are particularly impacted by these risks, especially those in public facing roles such as journalists, politicians and scientists. They face AI-driven threats, including the spread of gendered disinformation, surveillance, deep fakes and other forms of harassment. This emerging issue, also known as technology facilitated gender based violence (TFGBV), has become alarmingly prevalent, particularly with the rise of generative artificial intelligence.
The 2021 UNESCO’s commissioned study, The Chilling, carried out by the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ), a non-profit professional organization that promotes journalism worldwide found that 73 per cent of women Journalists have experienced online threats, related to their work, with one in four facing offline attack as a result. There has been no relief to the trend since. Rather, access to institutional support still remains scarce resulting in offline violence widespread, physical violence, and legal threats self censorship and socialization, and withdrawal of many journalists or female content creators to withdraw from public participation.
This year’s IDEI seems to further address this problem, to reinforce stakeholders’ ongoing work in tackling online attacks against Journalists, and particularly in promoting the safety of women Journalists ,by focusing on online gendered violent under the theme that addresses the growing threats posed by AI tools that facilitate and amplify online gender based violence, harassment, surveillance and gender disinformation, disproportionately against women Journalists, hence, it is a call to action for all stakeholders to tackle Gender-Based Violence (GBV) through various Initiatives, including talking about it and proposing solutions, taking advantage of various opportunities such as policies and advocacy forum as well as on digital platforms.
As part of the commemoration, the events are not limited to November 2, rather, there could be actions and partnerships with organizations and stakeholders of like minds and intention to drive the objectives of IDEI 2025.
Partners and coalition on the safety of journalists are encouraged to actively engage in amplifying this year’s theme through partnership that has similar specific mandates or in partnerships with other actors with shared goals. In order to adopt a process -oriented approach that goes beyond commemoration events, partners will be encouraged to take advantage of the occasion to do Initiatives such as issuing public statements, announcing a major policy reform initiative or a new project on safety of Journalists.
Journalists and media professionals’ umbrella bodies like the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP), Nigeria Guild of Editors (NGE) and Radio, Television, Theater and Arts Workers of Nigeria (RATTAWU) amongst other relevant stakeholders can organize solidarity events for journalists and media workers that have suffered reprisals for their work, including disappearances and imprisonment. They can also organize safety training with a focus on digital safety, integrating TFGBV modules, for local journalists (especially women), develop newsroom protocols to address gender based violence with mechanism to respond to TFGBV cases, including internal reporting mechanism psychological support and legal aid referral systems. Reviewing existing support policies and strategies for journalists when it comes to working in dangerous contexts is also inclusive.
As for civil societies working on freedom of expression and safety of Journalists, they are encouraged to take the lead in organizing advocacy and awareness raising events for stakeholders, including testimonies from journalists and media workers that have suffered reprisals at work, host seminars or workshops focused on the impact of TFGBV on women Journalists and media workers, highlighting persons testimonies and survivors’ centered perspectives; organizing trainings on how best to utilize UN human rights treaty bodies, review State parties periodic reports, or transmit individual complaints and offer holistic support services such as legal, psychological, digital, physical, etc for women Journalists facing TFGBV to combat Impunity and ensure safety., and to increase accountability for crimes against women through supporting the legal defence of journalists and launching strategic litigation, amongst others.
Academic networks can also research projects and resources on safety of journalists and the issue of Impunity. They can also conduct research studies on the prevalence, patterns and impacts of TFGBV , particularly on women Journalists and activists. The year 2025 commemoration strategy is to identify and multiply opportunities to which various stakeholders can engage in amplifying the IDEI theme for this year. Infact, several international events provide such opportunities for strategic engagement on the IDEI theme for 2025.
Several international events provide such opportunities for strategic engagement. There are various ways of engaging and leveraging these opportunities. Umbrella bodies of journalists and media workers,as earmarked earlier could host events, organize exhibitions or arrange speaking slots or/and network with other participants.
The Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in 2015 were in collaboration with UNESCO and other partners to implement a project titled “Promoting the Safety of Journalists in Nigeria’, funded under the UNDP Democratic Governance and Development (DGD) Project.
The activities included establishment of a national monitoring committee on journalists’ safety and thirty seven similar committees at state’s council levels, including the FCT, Development of a safety code for journalists, training of Journalists on safety, especially, in relations to the election periods, and general public awareness on the importance of journalists’ safety ahead of 2015 elections. It was in collaboration with the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the issue of Impunity. We appeal to NUJ to reignite this in collaboration with other stakeholders, agents of the state, amongst others as it was done then.
The Society for Journalism Enhancement Initiatives (S4JEI) will continue to promote safety intervention programmes for journalists, promote training programmes and mechanism favourable to freedom of expression, facilitate avenues for the free flow of information dissemination mechanism between agencies or government and journalists, promotion of media synergy towards sustainability of good relationships between journalists and agents of the state, and enhance mutual understanding and relationships between journalists, media stakeholders’, government at all levels and the general public. These are our mission, mandate and our responsibility.
Gbemiga Bamidele, Ph.D. is the Convener, Society for Journalism Enhancement Initiatives (S4JEI).
