ActionAid Nigeria has called on all relevant stakeholders and security agencies to take action in ending impunity and ensuring the safety and protection of journalists particularly women.
Speaking at the just-concluded National Media Virtual Roundtable on Safety and Protection of Women Journalists in Nigeria organized by ActionAid Nigeria, Ene Obi, country director of ActionAid Nigeria, said that Government and private media houses need to create a gender friendly environment for all.
At the event, which was held in celebration of 2021 International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, she said ActionAid Nigeria will continue to advocate for and stand with journalists to tackle issues and attacks leveled against them.
She also employed journalists to always be on the lookout for each other.
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Also speaking, Theophilus Abbah, program director, Daily Trust Foundation, said in his keynote address that the security of journalists should be crucial because they play a vital role in society.
According to him, journalists should be protected rather than being attacked.
He said that legal and ethical frameworks should be put in place to frown against any form of discrimination against journalists. He however added that law enforcement and security agencies should be enlightened on how to relate with journalists especially women.
A joint communiqué issued at the end of the virtual roundtable stated that the harassment and impunity against journalists especially sexual harassment of female journalists will not end until perpetrators are investigated and punished accordingly.
“Networking and solidarity building are required among journalists for strategic advocacy and to counter threats of violence and crimes against journalists, particularly women, towards protecting freedom of expression for all,” the communiqué stated.
It further stated that “Police or other security operatives’ invitation of journalists on the basis of news reports is a form of harassment. There are ways to address concerns regarding published stories. Rather than have security agencies arrest journalists, they should write to the media organizations and provide their own side of the story,” the communiqué reads.
Meanwhile, the whole panelists including Ladi Bala, President, Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ); Omolola Oladimeji, team lead, Women in Media Development Initiative (WIMDI), and Oba Adeoye, a senior correspondent of Arise News, unanimously agreed that the safety of the work environment for journalists cannot be over-emphasized.
