Journalists face threats of sexual violence, gender discrimination: report

JournalismPakistan.com | Published: 27 April 2016

The Committee to Protect Journalists has released a report detailing the threats faced by journalists, including sexual violence and discrimination. It includes personal accounts and analytical insights into the ongoing struggles within the media profession.
Summary

NEW YORK - Sexual violence, intimidation, social networks and gender discrimination prevent reporters carry reports on current topics and publish news reports. A report titled 'Attacks on the Press' published today by the Committee to Protect Journalists details the personal stories of journalists accompanied by analytical comments.

It highlights the problem and tells the story of the courage of reporters exposed to such threats, and also shows what ultimately leads to threat if they are not stopped. 'Attacks on the Press' is a collection of essays written by CPJ staff and outside experts to analyze the problems currently facing journalists.

The publication of the 2016 report from various points of view deals with the problems that are at the intersection of gender issues and press freedom. The book shows a heartbreaking history of Colombian journalist Dzhinet Bedoya Lima, who 16 years ago was raped by men who wanted to punish her â€‹â€‹for her reporting on the illicit arms trade.

Bedoya, leading a campaign for the fulfillment of justice in cases of sexual violence, said it was "a crime that destroyed our lives," but said that she could not part with journalism. In one passage of her essay, she writes: "I still do not know where I found the strength to return to the editor, my notes and my recorder. But I clearly realize what moved me.

Now I know that my love for the profession was stronger than the physical and mental pain that I felt. " The book also analyzes the effects of gender discrimination - from the constraints of women reporters in China to the situation of women journalists in Libya, where after the fall of Gadaffi, the level of repression decreased, but it led to an increase in the number of violent crimes.

The report also discusses the challenges facing journalists, homosexuals and transgender journalists who have to deal with discrimination, both within and outside the offices. Several other essays raised the difficult question of what measures can be taken - by the ad campaign against intimidation of journalists in social networks to the organizations for their specialized training on security issues.

Kathleen Carroll, vice president, CPJ executive director of the agency and the Associated Press, discuss in the essay that the manifestation of the media managers care about their employees can have the latest substantial assistance in overcoming difficult life situations. - CPJ

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