In March 2014 the International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF), together with the International News Safety Institute (INSI), released an alarming report on violence and harassment against women in news media worldwide. It describes the types of violence and threats that female journalists encounter and considers how these incidents affect their ability to conduct their work. The detailed report, composed of responses from almost 1000 women journalists from around the world, describes a work environment where half of the women respondents have experienced sexual harassment, one quarter have experienced physical violence, 15% have experienced sexual violence and where threats and intimidation are a part of daily life for two-thirds of the respondents.

Has the recent adoption of the UN Human Rights Council resolution on the safety of journalists and the IWMF’s documentation of the severity of the problems facing women journalists had any effect on their safety? Or is sexual harassment, intimidation and violence still an inherent part of the job?

Has the current atmosphere of distrust against media in any way affected women journalists’ safety and/or the precautions currently being taken as a woman journalist?

An expert panel consisting of Executive Director of IWMF Elisa Lees Munoz and some of the IWMF Courage in Journalism award recipients will participate in a webinar moderated by Melanie Walker, Director of Media Development and Programme Head for Women in News at WAN-IFRA.

The webinar is hosted by GFMD in collaboration with IWMF and WAN-IFRA and thanks to funding from the National Endowment for Democracy.

Please join us on December 18 at 16:00 CET to hear more about this important issue. To register, please sign up here