VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN JOURNALISTS AROUND THE WORLD

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VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN JOURNALISTS AROUND THE WORLD
UNITED NATIONS COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN 67th SESSION
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN JOURNALISTS AROUND THE WORLD
VIRTUAL PANEL DISCUSSION
9 March 2023, Thursday | 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM EST | VIRTUAL

On the occasion of the 67th Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW67), the Journalists and Writers Foundation (JWF) is organizing a virtual panel discussion on “Violence Against Women Journalists Around the World” and will host women media members reporting from different parts of the world and create a platform to raise awareness of the deteriorating status of press freedom and underline gender-based challenges encountered by journalists.

With the rise of undemocratic regimes, 2022 marked another milestone in deteriorating media independence and press freedom. Countries with ongoing armed or internal conflicts such as Ukraine, Iran, Russia, and Turkey continue to remain at the top of the list where women journalists combat the highest number of cases with many different forms of human rights violations. The media is not truly free and inclusive with the equal participation of women journalists, who have an important leadership to cover gender-specific news and raise awareness on the deteriorating women`s rights which are often under-reported. 

Despite the various challenges, while women journalists continue their transformative work to report on the systemic and grave human rights violations, the alarmingly increasing injustices that they encounter are overlooked. The most frequent forms of violence against women journalists include physical attacks in the field, arbitrary detentions, defamation campaigns and legal harassment.

Protecting press freedom to uphold human rights for all is a priority working area for the JWF. To empower young professionals with a gender-sensitive approach, it organizes annual series of Media and Journalism Webinars inviting expert journalists and UN correspondents to share their experiences and best practices with the participants from different parts of the world on the role of journalism for sustainable peace and empower them with the tools and resources to combat violations that journalists encounter in different forms. 

On this CSW67 Panel Discussion, the JWF aims to bring together women journalists to discuss: 

  • Increasing forms of gender-based violations encountered by women journalists
  • The role of women journalists documenting sexual crimes as a weapon of war in Ukraine
  • Best-practices of Iranian women journalists to create global solidarity for women in Iran  
  • “Disinformation Act” in Turkey: How does it shrink women journalists` space? 
  • Women reporters under Taliban Regime in Afghanistan 

Date and Time: 9 March 2023, Thursday (11:00 AM – 12:30 PM EST)

Format of the Event: 

  • This virtual panel will be held at the NGO CSW67 Forum Events website over Zoom and live-streamed at JWF`s YouTube Channel.
  • Following the opening remarks of the moderator, each panelist will have 10 minutes of a speaking time. When all panelists conclude their intervention, the floor will be opened by moderator for reflections and questions from the audience.