Strengthening capacities of female journalists on Safety Mechanisms and Sexual Harassment in the Media Spaces in Kenya

UNESCO is supporting the Association of Media Women in Kenya (AMWIK) to strengthen capacities of female journalists on safety mechanisms and sexual harassment in the media spaces in Kenya. The training will target 60 women journalists from community media and is scheduled to take place on 18th and 19th May 2022 (2 days) at the Hilton Hotel in Nairobi, Kenya. Thirty (30) participants will attend the workshop physically while thirty (30) will join virtually.

The training seeks to encourage the upward mobility of women within the participating media stations in decision-making positions by addressing hurdles they face at the work place including issues on security and sexual harassment in Kenya.

Participants will be taken through sessions on; understanding what sexual harassment entails and how to address it, safe spaces for survivors, story pitching and improved reporting to increase public awareness, policies on sexual harassment and reporting mechanisms. It will also cover topics on safety of women journalists both within the media spaces and outside while dealing with sources, both online and offline threats and abuse. Training needs assessment has also been shared with the participants to allow them further suggest areas of focus.

Issues on safety of female journalists and sexual harassment have become rampant as per the report by Women in News-WAN-IFRA, which states that Kenya media houses are leading in these issues in Africa. The targeted women will be drawn from 10 counties namely: Nairobi, Kiambu, Mombasa, Homabay, Busia, Migori, Uasin Gishu, Kisumu, Kajiado and Meru counties in Kenya.