Safety of Women Journalists

In Resolution 2222 adopted in 2015, the Security Council acknowledges the specific risks faced by women journalists, media professionals and associated personnel in conduct of their work, and underlines the importance of considering the gender dimension of measures to address their safety in situations of armed conflict;

In Resolution 21/12 adopted in 2012 and Resolution 27/5 adopted in 2014, the HRC similarly acknowledges the specific risks faced by women journalists and the importance of taking a gender-sensitive approach when considering measures to address the safety of journalists.

In Resolution 33/2 adopted in 2016, the HRC goes further by condemning unequivocally the specific attacks on women journalists in the exercise of their work, including sexual and gender-based discrimination and violence, intimidation and harassment, online and offline;

In Resolution 39/6 adopted in 2018, the HRC again condemns unequivocally the specific attacks on women journalists and media workers in relation to their work. It urges States to do their utmost to prevent violence, intimidation, threats and attacks against journalists and media workers, including by putting in place safe gender-sensitive preventive measures and investigative procedures in order to encourage women journalists to report offline and online attacks against them, and providing adequate support, including psychosocial support, to victims and survivors. The HRC calls upon States to tackle gender-based discrimination, including sexual and gender-based violence, threats, intimidation, harassment and incitement to hatred against women journalists, online and offline, as part of broader efforts to promote and protect the human rights of women, eliminate gender inequality and tackle gender-based stereotypes in society;

In Resolution 38/7 adopted in 2018, the HRC emphasizes the risks with regard to the safety of journalists in the digital age, including the particular vulnerability of journalists to becoming targets of unlawful or arbitrary surveillance and/or interception of communications, in violation of their rights to privacy and to freedom of expression. It also condemns unequivocally online attacks against women and calls for gender-sensitive responses that take into acocunt the particular forms of online discrimination. It additionally calls upon States to create and maintain, in law and practice, a safe and enabling online environment so that journalists may perform their work independently and without undue or unlawful interference.

In Resolution 45/18 adopted in 2020, the HRC is deeply alarmed at the specific risks faced by women journalists in relation to their work, and underlining in this context the importance of taking a gender-responsive approach when considering measures to address the safety of journalists, including in the online sphere, in particular to effectively tackle gender-based discrimination, including sexual and gender based violence, threats, including threats of rape, intimidation, harassment, online gender based harassment and abuse, including blackmailing with private content, inequality and gender-based stereotypes, to enable women to enter and remain in journalism on terms of equality and non-discrimination while ensuring their greatest possible safety, and to ensure that the experiences and concerns of women journalists are effectively addressed;

In Resolution 47/16 adopted in 2021, the HRC again condemns unequivocally online attacks against women and girls, including sexual and gender-based violence and abuse of women, in particular where women journalists, media workers, public officials or others engaging in public debate are targeted for their expression, and calls for gender-sensitive responses that take into account the particular forms of online discrimination.

In respectively Resolution 68/163 adopted in 2013, Resolution 69/185 and Resolution 27/5 both adopted in 2014, and in Resolution 70/162 adopted in 2015, the UN General Assembly acknowledges the specific risks faced by women journalists in the exercise of their work, and underlines the importance of taking a gender-sensitive approach when considering measures to address the safety of journalists; 

In Resolution 72/175 adopted in 2017, the UN General Assembly condemns unequivocally all attacks and violence against journalists and media workers. It also condemns specific attacks on women journalists in the exercise of their work, including sexual and gender-based discrimination and violence, intimidation and harassment, online and offline. The Resolution calls upon States to implement more effectively the applicable legal framework for the protection of journalists and media workers in order to combat impunity;

In Resolution 74/154 adopted in 2019, the UN General Assembly expresses its deep concern with the specific risks faced by women journalists in relation to their work, in non-conflict as well as in armed conflict situations, where they continue to be targeted at alarming rates. It underlines in this context the importance of taking a gender-sensitive approach when considering measures to address the safety of journalists and media workers, including in the online sphere, in particular to effectively tackle gender-based discrimination, violence, abuse and harassment, including sexual harassment, threats and intimidation, as well as inequality and gender-based stereotypes, to enable women to enter and remain in journalism on terms of equality and non-discrimination while ensuring their greatest possible safety, and to ensure that the experiences and concerns of women journalists are effectively addressed and gender stereotypes in the media are adequately tackled. It also condemns the specific attacks on women journalists and media workers in relation to their work, such as gender-based discrimination and violence, including online and offline sexual harassment, intimidation and incitement to hatred against women journalists, and calls upon States to tackle these issues as part of broader efforts to promote and protect the human rights of women, eliminate gender inequality and tackle gender-based stereotypes in society. It urges Member States to do their utmost to prevent violence, threats and attacks targeting women journalists and media worked in armed conflict and non-conflict situations;

In Resolution 74/157 adopted in 2019, the UN General Assembly condemns unequivocally the specific attacks on women journalists and media workers in relation to their work, such as gender-based discrimination and violence, including online and offline sexual harassment, intimidation and incitement to hatred against women journalists, and calls upon States to tackle these issues as part of broader efforts to promote and protect the human rights of women, eliminate gender inequality and tackle gender-based stereotypes in society. The UN General Assembly also urges political leaders, public officials and/or authorities to refrain from denigrating, intimidating or threatening the media, including individual journalists and media workers, specifically women.

Resolution 39C adopted in 2017 at the 39^th session of UNESCO General Conference encourages Member States to strenghten the voluntarily implementation of the UN Plan of Action at country level and invites the UNESCO Director-General to reinforce actions addressing threats to the safety of women journalists online and offline;

In Resolution 52 adopted in 2019 in its 40^th session, the General Conference authorizes the Director-General to reinforce capacities of journalists, journalism educators and their institutions, based on the UNESCO model curricula as a model for institutional excellence in this area, while encouraging the training of women journalists.

Decision 31 taken by UNESCO 196^th Executive Board in 2015 acknowledges the specific risks faced by women journalists in the exercise of their work, and the importance of taking gender-sensitive approach when considering measures to address the safety of journalists. It requests the Director-General to reinforce UNESCO’s lead role in coordinating the implementation of  the  United  Nations  Plan  of  Action  on  the  Safety  of  Journalists  in cooperation with Member States, including by strengthening  cooperation  with  professional  organizations  and  other  actors , with a specific focus on women journalists;

Decision 5.I.I taken in 2017, UNESCO 201^st Executive Board expresses its commitment to the safety of journalists and media workers. It acknowledges the  specific  risks  faced  by  women  journalists  in  the  exercise  of  their profession, including sexual and gender-based discrimination and violence, intimidation and harassment, both online and offline. It makes reference to the United Nations Secretary-General’s report on the safety of journalists and the issue of impunity, which highlights the safety of women journalists, and to which UNESCO contributed. It also requests the Director-General to present to  it  at  its  202nd  session  a  progress  report, containing the results and impact of UNESCO’s work on the safety of journalists and proposals for how it can be strengthened, taking into account the  need  for  concrete  measures  to  tackle  the  specific  risks  faced  by  women journalists online and offline;

 Decision 5.I.K  taken in 2017, UNESCO 202^nd Executive Board expresses concern over growing attacks on women journalists, including online. It invites the Director-General to reinforce activities addressing the specific threats to the safety of women journalists, both online and offline;

In Decision 5.I.B taken in 2019, UNESCO 206^th Executive Board invites the Director-General to prioritize activities addressing the specific threats to the safety of women journalists, both online and offline, as well as new emerging threats to the safety of journalists. 

In Decision 5.I.G taken in 2021, UNESCO 211th Executive Board invites the Director-General to continue prioritizing activities addressing the specific threats to the safety of women journalists, both online and offline.

In Decisions taken by the 30^th Council Session of the International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC) in 2016, the Intergovernmental Council of IPDC invites the Director-General to further the analytical report on the killing of journalists, media workers and social media producers who are killed in their line of duty, by strengthening data disaggregation in order to highlight the specific risks faced by women journalists in the exercise of their work;

In Decisions taken by the 31^st Council Session of the International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC) in 2018, the Intergovernmental Council of IPDC invites the Director-General to further reinforce the analytical report on the killing of journalists, media workers and social media producers who are engaged in journalistic activities by continuing to strenghten a gender-sensitive analysis in order to highlight the specific risks faced by women journalists in the exercise of their work.

In Decisions taken by the 32nd Council Session of the International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC) in 2020, the Intergovernmental Council of IPDC welcomed the focus on “Combatting violence against women journalists” of the 2020 annual report by the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women to the UN Human Rights Council and UNESCO’s contribution to this report.

In UNESCO's San José Declaration on Securing Freedom of Expression in all Media from 2013, the participants expressed their deep concern with attacks on freedom of expression and especially on those who practice journalism, , as well as the specific pressures brought against women journalists;

In UNESCO's Riga Declaration on Better Reporting, Gender Equality and Media Safety in the Digital Age from 2015, the participants called on UNESCO to strengthen cooperation with professional organizations and other actors in addressing the safety of journalists, with a specific focus on women journalists;

In the Finlandia Declaration on Access to Information and Fundamental Freedoms from 2016, the participants recognized the importance of acknowledging the role of women journalists and the specific threats they face, including sexualized violence and online and offline harassment;

In the Accra Declaration "Keeping Power in Check: Media, Justice and the Rule of Law" from 2018, the participants called on journalists, media outlets, social media practitioners and Internet intermediaries to provide, as needed, safety equipment and training to staff who are at risk of attack for the information they disseminate, including specialized training for women;

In the Addis Ababa Declaration "Journalism and Elections in Times of Disinformation" from 2019, the participants emphasized on the safety of journalists, with cognizance of the particular threats to women journalists. They also highlighted on support training for journalists and other media workers in order to challenge gender stereotyping and misrepresentation of women in the media, and to sensitize the media and the electorate on the need and benefits of women in leadership positions.

In the Windhoek +30 Declaration on Information as a Public Good, the participants call on governments to commit to creating a positive enabling environment for freedom of expression and access to information through taking measures to reinforce the safety of journalists, including with a specific focus on women journalists..