By Nelly Moraa Entebe ,Uganda — African law enforcement agencies, legal bodies, and media organizations have pledged new commitments to protect women journalists amid rising cases of harassment, intimidation, and violence across the continent. In picture, law enforcement officers -from the left representing Uganda, Nigeria, Cameroon and Kenya during our training on Monitoring and Reporting Violation Cases Against Female Journalists Across Africa. The renewed momentum follows the expansion of the IAWRT Mapping Tool, a digital platform designed to document and trigger action on violations targeting women in the media. This week, during the opening of a training workshop on Monitoring and Reporting on the Safety of Journalists in Africa, senior police officials, legal experts, and media stakeholders affirmed the tool’s significance, especially as African countries prepare for high-risk electoral cycles. Speaking at the opening ceremony, Commissioner Polycarp Ngufor Forkum, Head of the Human Rights Unit of the Cameroon Police Force, underscored that law enforcement has a legal and moral duty to guarantee journalists’ safety. He praised the IAWRT-UNESCO collaboration as “a timely and visionary step,” noting that the partnership’s second phase expressly focuses on strengthening institutional response. Photo: Commissioner Ngufor posing during our training in Entebe, Uganda “Journalists are watchdogs of democracy, and it is we, law enforcement, who must guarantee their safety,” Commissioner Ngufor said. The observatory provides vital data, but data alone is not enough. What completes the cycle of justice is professional investigation and enforcement.” A growing wave of gender-based attacks on women journalists across Africa has pushed regional institutions to escalate their response, with IAWRT’s innovative Mapping Tool emerging as a critical platform for documenting, verifying, and triggering action against violations. The workshop highlighted that attacks spike sharply during elections, when political tensions, misinformation, and public demonstrations create volatile reporting environments. Security representatives from Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, Nigeria, and Cameroon echoed similar commitments, acknowledging that improved collaboration with media workers is essential for credible investigations, stronger community trust, and safer reporting environments. Assistant Commandant-General Olusola Odumosu of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), presented a paper titled “From Report to Response: How Cases of Attacks Against Female Journalists Are Handled.” Odumosu affirmed that the NSCDC has prioritised journalist safety as part of its mandate, but stressed the need for deeper reforms. “We cannot protect what we do not understand,” he said. “Our responses must recognise trauma, centre gender sensitivity, and be grounded in empathy as well as professionalism.” Photo: Mr. Odumosu Olusola representing the law enforcement collaboration from West Africa Odumosu urged institutions to build a culture where impunity is rejected and every attack triggers action. The Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU), one of the key partners in the Mapping Tool initiative, will provide legal support to cases submitted through the platform. PALU’s role includes guiding journalists under attack through legal processes, supporting litigation, ensuring institutions respond to verified cases and strengthening the implementation of continental human rights frameworks. This legal infrastructure is critical in closing the enforcement gaps that have allowed perpetrators of violence against journalists, especially women to act without consequence. The high-level training workshop on Monitoring and Reporting on the Safety of Journalists in Africa, was convened by the International Association of Women in Radio and Television (IAWRT) and supported by UNESCO. UNESCO’s Advisor for Communication and Information in Africa, Misako Ito, who officiated at the launch of the mapping tool reminded participants that protecting women journalists is a democratic requirement. “When women journalists are silenced through fear or violence, societies lose essential voices and the public loses access to truth. We must ensure that every report leads to real protection and real justice.” These sentiments were shared by Commissioner Polycarp Ngufor Forkum, while hailing the cooperation between IAWRT, UNESCO, and security institutions. “Freedom of expression is not a favor; it is a right. The safety of journalists is not optional, it is our duty as security officers and guardians of the rule of law.” Ngufor emphasised that freedom of expression thrives only when police uphold the rule of law and respond promptly to violations. He welcomed the tool’s gender-sensitive focus, noting that women journalists face a “systemic pattern of intimidation designed to silence their voices.”Participants at the regional workshop were unified in calls to ensure that data, legal frameworks, and police action must collaborate towards ensuring the safety of women journalists in Africa. IAWRT’s mapping and reporting observatory IAWRT’s Mapping Tool, powered by Ushahidi technology, has already captured more than 120 verified cases of press freedom violations against women journalists across 16 African countries. It promotes a platform for a coordinated response to attacks against female journalists. Image capture of IAWRT’s mapping and reporting observatory It enables journalists to log incidents in real time, pinpoint exact locations, upload evidence, trigger independent verification and activate institutional follow up. The tool’s launch comes against a backdrop of troubling trends. Data collected by IAWRT, UNESCO-supported researchers, and press freedom organizations shows: 73% of women journalists in Africa have faced online harassment.25% report physical threats; 18% have endured sexual violence.20% of online threats eventually escalate into offline attacks. Between 2019–2024, at least 258 violations against women journalists, including assaults, abductions, and arrests  were documented by regional monitoring groups. Election periods remain the deadliest, with national security agencies responsible for the majority of violations reported in several countries. PALU’s involvement ensures that the Mapping Tool is not merely a reporting mechanism but a pathway to justice. IAWRT representatives stressed that legal intervention is essential because most women journalists do not report incidents due to fear, stigma, or the belief that “nothing will be done.”

By Nelly Moraa Entebe ,Uganda — The International Association of Women in Radio and Television (IAWRT) Kenya Chapter has taken a bold step in advancing journalist safety in Africa with the launch of the Observatory for Monitoring and Reporting on Safety of Journalists in Africa. The digital platform, developed under IAWRT’s leadership with support from UNESCO’s International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC), places a special focus on gendered threats against women journalists. The launch, held in Entebe, Uganda, brought together media professionals, Pan African lawyers Union PALU , law enforcement officers, from across the continent, to address the growing threats facing women journalists both online and offline. Uganda Commends Initiative and Reaffirms Policy Support Representing the host government, Angela Nakafeero, Commissioner for Gender and Women Affairs at Uganda’s Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, hailed IAWRT Kenya and its partners for their leadership in creating a proactive mechanism to track, prevent, and respond to attacks against journalists. “About 80 percent of women journalists worldwide experience online abuse, with higher instances in the Global South, especially in Uganda. This calls us to take action—to protect women in journalism and amplify their voices to combat violence against women and girls,” Nakafeero said. Group photo: Marking IDEI 2025 in Entebe, graced by Angela Nakafeero, Commissioner for Gender and Women Affairs at Uganda’s Ministry of Gender, Misako ITO and Lea Simonini from UNESCO, IAWRT members, Law enforcement and Pan African Lawyers Union members from across Africa She noted Uganda’s commitment to media freedom through laws such as the Data Protection and Privacy Act (2019) and the Interception of Communications Act (2010), and encouraged journalists to make use of tools like SAUTI, a toll-free reporting platform for violence and abuse. “Women journalists must continue to use online spaces to advance their work while safeguarding themselves from cyberstalking, shaming, and other digital risks,” she added UNESCO Reaffirms Partnership and New Funding Opportunities Speaking at the event’s closing session, UNESCO’s Advisor for Communication and Information in Africa Misako Ito lauded IAWRT Kenya’s leadership in the initiative and underscored the organization’s commitment to building safer media environments through global collaboration. “Among all our priorities, the safety of journalists—and especially women journalists—remains one of the key pillars of the IPDC programme,” Ito said. She announced a forthcoming call for grassroots media project proposals, offering grants of about $30,000 under UNESCO’s IPDC framework. The Observatory’s second phase, she explained, now focuses on engaging police and judiciary actors to improve protection and response mechanisms when violations occur. “We finalized standard operating procedures that guide cooperation between journalists, police, and legal actors when cases are reported,” UNESCO has so far trained 12,000 security officers and 36,000 judiciary actors across 150 countries on freedom of expression and journalist safety. Collaboration for a Safer Media Ecosystem The Observatory, designed under IAWRT Kenya’s coordination, will serve as a regional platform to document, monitor, and strengthen responses to violations against journalists, with a specific gender-sensitive lens. It aims to enhance accountability, promote legal awareness, and build stronger links between media practitioners and justice institutions. The Entebe event marked a major milestone in continental collaboration, uniting efforts between IAWRT Kenya, UNESCO, and the Government of Uganda to ensure women journalists can work free from fear, intimidation, and violence. “The Ministry of Gender appreciates the work of journalists in informing, educating, and entertaining the public,” Nakafeero said. “We celebrate women in the media for their resilience and contribution to national and continental development.” Uganda became a model country in establishing a media desk at its Criminal Investigation Department headquarters at Kibuli, Kampala. The legal officer Assistant Superintendent of Police Allan Nkaragwa urged journalists in Uganda to sensitize others about the desk to enable them to seek protection when facing violations. Photo: Session capture during the IDEI 2025 convening led by IAWRT Kenya Chairperson Josephine Karani IAWRT’s Kenya Chapter Chairperson, Josephine Karani called on journalists across the continent to take advantage of the platform to report and map any forms of violations. She said the map is critical in hastening response to violations and in addressing the rising trend of violence against female journalists. She said IAWRT will lobby for the establishment of a media desk across the continent modelled along the Uganda one. The observatory map (https://report.iawrt.or.ke) launch coincided with the global commemoration of the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists (IDEI). This was held under the theme CHAT GBV: Raising Awareness on AI-facilitated Gender Based Violence Against Women Journalists.  The observatory map is designed to enhance protection for women by ensuring action is taken on all cases mapped by relevant organs.