Home 9 Digital rights 9 Call for more trainings on safety and security for female journalists

Call for more trainings on safety and security for female journalists

26 Jul, 2023
The call was made after MISA Zimbabwe held a safety and security training workshop in Harare on 22 July 2023, which deliberately targeted young female journalists. Thirty female journalists drawn from 25 media houses participated in the training workshop.

Media stakeholders have called for more training workshops targeting female journalists to enhance their safety and security while on duty.

The call was made after MISA Zimbabwe held a safety and security training workshop in Harare on 22 July 2023, which deliberately targeted young female journalists. Thirty female journalists drawn from 25 media houses participated in the training workshop.

This comes when the country is preparing for elections, which generally heightens the vulnerability of female journalists as they have to contend with on and offline violence and cyber-bullying amid reports of sexual harassment in and outside the newsroom.

In the past, female journalists have been victims of attacks at political rallies, during public order maintenance situations, and through online cyber-bullying.  This has resulted in young female journalists fearing to work in newsrooms.

The training conducted by MISA Zimbabwe was aimed at making the journalism profession more gender-friendly, especially during high stakes operating environments such as elections.

Recommendations

  • Political parties should create safe spaces at their events and rallies to ensure that journalists are not attacked or harassed by their supporters. This includes toning down on rhetoric against the media.
  • Political parties should educate their supporters to desist from online attacks against journalists, especially female members of the profession.
  • There is a need to heighten awareness among young female journalists across newsrooms on what constitutes sexual harassment.
  • News sources should desist from sexual advances to female journalists in exchange for news.
  • Continuous engagement with young female journalists, offering pep talks, even tertiary institutions, where the abuse often starts.
  • More journalism safety and security trainings for female journalists.

About MISA

The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) was founded in 1992. Its work focuses on promoting, and advocating for, the unhindered enjoyment of freedom of expression, access to information and a free, independent, diverse and pluralistic media.

Share this

Related news

FOX Fellowships ( Call for Applications)

FOX Fellowships ( Call for Applications)

DW Akademie in collaboration with the Spaces of Solidarity coalition of Media Freedom Advocates offer five FOX Fellowships of 1,000 EUR (~ 1,100 USD) for activists, media professionals, media freedom and freedom of expression advocates to foster free expression in the...

The Freedom of Expression  Climate survey 2025- Now Available!

The Freedom of Expression Climate survey 2025- Now Available!

Southern Africa has in its history never faced such crossroads in the wake of the USA’s global funding cuts and dealing with high stakes that are borne of elections and rapid technological changes. The headwinds are further compounded by the debilitating effects of...

Welcome address by the Chairperson of MISA Zambia, Lorraine Mwanza

Welcome address by the Chairperson of MISA Zambia, Lorraine Mwanza

Ladies and gentlemen, it is my great pleasure to welcome you to this year’s Spaces of Solidarity meeting, where we again gather to discuss issues that are relevant to us. I am pleased to see both old faces, which speak to continuity, and new faces, indicating that our...