UN Special Rapporteur Irene Khan launches essay collection “#JournalistsToo” on personal stories of harassment by women journalists
On the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (25 November), Irene Khan, Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression, is publishing the essay collection “#JournalistsToo – Women Journalists Speak Out”, which chronicles the personal experiences of harassment by eleven journalists from ten countries. The publication is supported by UNESCO and the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council.
In stark language, the journalists describe the threats and attacks they endure – simply for being women, for doing their work, for revealing the truth and daring to speak up. The harassment and attacks range from defamation and disinformation campaigns, gendered hate-speech, trolling to rape and death threats, smear campaigns and threats against their family members. The stories show how gender-based violence intersects with racism, homophobia, and other forms of discrimination.
As Irene Khan highlights, these attacks are intended to intimidate, silence and drive women journalists out of the public sphere.
The publication includes the perspective of Christiane Amanpour, Chief International Anchor of CNN, who underscores that these are not the stories of victims. Rather, the essays “encourage journalists to fight back” and “send a strong message of hope and resilience to other journalists who may have experienced similar situations”.
As the world marks the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and the 16 days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, the essay collection #JournalistsToo makes the voices of women journalists heard and raises awareness for the gender-specific threats they face in their daily work. UNESCO supports the launch of the publication with a social media campaign and by publishing a selection of individual stories during the 16 days of activism.
Support the campaign by sharing the social media material which you can find here.
Use the hashtags: #JournalistsToo, #16days, #OrangeTheWorld
The full publication is available in English, French and Spanish under this link.
The project has received financial support by UNESCO’s Multidonor Programme for Freedom of Expression and Safety of Journalists and the Swedish Postcode Foundation.
About the Multi-Donor Programme for Freedom of Expression and Safety of Journalists (MDP)
The MDP serves to further strengthen UNESCO work at a global, regional, and national levels, by channeling funds towards emerging priorities and the most pressing needs to achieve its mandate on freedom of expression. It enables UNESCO Communication and Information Sector to address complex issues through the design and implementation of holistic medium and long-term interventions at national, regional and global levels. The clear advantage of this mechanism is that it allows UNESCO and its partners to achieve greater impact and sustainability, whilst reducing fragmentation of activities in the same field.
Protect free, independent and pluralistic media: https://en.unesco.org/themes/fostering-freedom-expression/mdp