Safety and Security in Media: Skilling of Female Journalists against Potential Risks

Trollbusters and International Women’s Media Foundation (2018) indicate that 40% of female journalists avoid reporting on certain topics because of harassment.

Similarly, studies by Uganda Media Women’s Association (UMWA) particularly reflect that almost all female media practitioners in Uganda have experienced one or more kinds of safety and security attacks in duty execution.

Responsive to the rampage, UMWA has kick started regional capacity building targeting female journalists. This is in effort to enhance their knowledge and skills on keeping safe and secure in their career execution.

Of the 160 women journalists across the four regions, 40 in Kampala, central region, were trained on Saturday 18^th September 2021 at UMWA premises through the day. These were largely equipped with knowledge on media concepts, forms of insecurities both online and offline and solutions.

Margaret Sentamu, the Executive Director UMWA noted that whereas all journalists are increasingly facing insecurities, women practitioners are more vulnerable.

“One wonders why we are talking about safety and security in the media for female journalists today! As UMWA, we observe that women are both visibly and invisibly suffering most, something that threatens their long practice of the profession hence the immediacy of equipping them on coping mechanisms with the versatile political economy.” said Sentamu doubling as the day facilitator on issue.

Examples of some of the insecurities faced are: sexual harassment in workplace, sources, and physical assaults by security enforcers, cyber bullying, and blackmail, among others.

Lynn Komugisha, a broadcast journalist with Vision Group and participant in the Kampala training highlighted that emotional insecurity has also taken toil in the practice because of the play of politics against media output.

“Politics today affects media freedoms because they are operating under a microscopic eye which affects media independence and objectivity,” said Komugisha

Moureen Aguti another participant and journalist with Mama FM noted that as journalists, they need to cope and be calm when confronted by media violators. She added that returned reaction with violence hikes the situation faced.

For journalists to remain watchdogs of public interest, their safety is crucial for sustaining the open spaces for dialogue and civic engagement. Henceforth, these capacity trainings on safety and security in media are necessity because female journalists are most susceptible and need defensive mechanisms when faced with such risks.

Daniel Kaweesi, program officer Uganda National Commission for UNESCO advised the engaged journalists that for safety, they need to take up mechanisms proposed by the UN plan of Action 2012 recently being developed for safety of journalists.

“Among some of the defensive tactics to you is to seek truth and report it while avoiding “under cover” methods of obtaining information. This is in addition to always accessing threats around you before embarking on your work assignment.”

Other regional districts for the training undertaking are: Hoima, Lira and Mbale with journalists varying from radio, television, newspapers, online and bloggers.

Conducting these trainings in partnership with Uganda National Commission for UNATCOM, UMWA is contributing to the promotion of freedom of expression. This is a fundamental right under Article 29 of the 1995 Uganda Constitution that enshrines a free and safe press.

Among many brainstormed recommendations, Margaret Sentamu a media specialist as well, recommended that journalists safety and security can be secured through: sustainability of such trainings on safety but also gender responsive trainings. Reviewing of academic curriculum in media schools to include training on safety and security.

Through the post assessment forms filled by participants at training end, the female journalists exhibited improved knowledge on identifying forms of insecurities in their work and how to cope when “attacked”.