By IAWRT Kenya
As threats, harassment and other forms of violence against women journalists continue to undermine press freedom, documenting violations and ensuring accountability remain critical. However, documentation alone is not enough. Reported incidents must be verified, followed up and connected to appropriate response mechanisms.
Recognising this gap, the International Association of Women in Radio and Television (IAWRT) has strengthened its Observatory on Online and Offline Gender-Based Violence (O/GBV) against women journalists in Africa through an enhanced digital monitoring and reporting platform.
The upgraded platform migrated all 242 existing reports while retaining the old platform as a read-only archive. The improvements strengthen how violations are reported, verified, documented and referred for further action.
Strengthening Reporting, Verification and Case Management
A key enhancement is the introduction of a structured process for handling reported violations. Reports submitted through the online form or a dedicated email address are reviewed by IAWRT administrators before being assigned to fact-checkers.
Fact-checkers independently assess the information and classify reports as verified, partly verified, unconfirmed, or false or misleading. Administrators then determine whether to publish, reject, return a report for further verification or refer it for investigation.
This ensures that only reviewed and verified reports appear on the public platform while cases requiring further intervention can be referred independently of publication.
The system also provides registered reporters with dashboards to track their submissions, from receipt and review to fact-checking and publication. Individuals can equally submit reports anonymously without creating an account.
Connecting Documentation to Legal and Institutional Action
The enhanced Safety Monitor strengthens collaboration between IAWRT, the Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU) and law enforcement partners through a dedicated case-management and communication feature.
Cases requiring intervention can be referred to the relevant partners, who can communicate directly with IAWRT, share supporting documents and update investigation statuses through private case discussions.
This provides a more structured mechanism for following up on reported violations and connecting affected journalists to legal support. It also allows IAWRT to monitor the progress of referred cases and identify delays requiring attention.
Importantly, PALU and law enforcement partners have separate access to their assigned cases and cannot view each other’s discussions. This is particularly significant where law enforcement officers may themselves be implicated in reported violations.
Prioritising Reporters' Privacy and Safety
Given the sensitive nature of gender-based violence cases, the upgraded platform incorporates safeguards to protect reporters and their information.
Individuals can choose whether IAWRT may contact them, share their contact details with lawyers or law enforcement, or publicly identify them. These consent options are switched off by default.
The platform also displays approximate locations on the public map while retaining precise locations for authorised internal use. Photographs submitted with reports have their embedded location data automatically removed.
Access to sensitive reporter information is restricted, and the system maintains activity logs showing who accessed information and when. These measures help minimise unnecessary exposure and reduce the risk of further harm to journalists reporting violations.
Expanding Access to Reporting
To make reporting more accessible across different African contexts, the platform supports English, French and Spanish. Reporters can submit information and receive notifications in their preferred language, while reports remain in their original language rather than being automatically translated.
Violations can be reported through the online form or by emailing reports@iawrt.or.ke. The reporting form captures details about the incident, its location, the type of violation, whether it was gender-based, the parties involved and the support required. Reporters can also attach supporting photographs.
These multiple reporting channels, alongside the option of anonymous submissions, help address barriers that may discourage journalists from reporting harassment, intimidation and other violations.
Introducing Timelines for Accountability
Another significant improvement is the introduction of operational timelines to strengthen case follow-up.
The platform establishes targets for each stage, including one day for initial review, three days for fact-checking and two days for an administrative decision. Cases referred for investigation also have timelines for acknowledgement, commencement of action and closure.
Automated reminders notify responsible administrators, fact-checkers and partners when deadlines are approaching or have been exceeded. IAWRT can also monitor performance against these targets and download reports for institutional accountability.
While these timelines do not guarantee the resolution of cases, they provide a framework for tracking progress, identifying delays and ensuring that reported incidents receive timely attention.
Turning Evidence into Advocacy
The upgraded Observatory also strengthens access to information through its public incident map, searchable reports and statistics. Users can filter published reports by country, year and type of violation, view trends and download data for further analysis.
This information can support research, advocacy and policy engagement by helping identify patterns of violations, emerging threats and gaps in institutional responses to violence against women journalists.
However, the published data represents verified reports and should not be interpreted as the full extent of violations, many of which remain unreported.
Strengthening Protection ahead of the 2027 Elections
As Kenya approaches the 2027 General Election, protecting journalists from online and offline attacks remains essential to media freedom and democratic participation. Women journalists may face gender-specific forms of harassment, intimidation and threats that affect their safety and ability to report freely.
Through the enhanced Safety Monitor, IAWRT is strengthening its contribution to a coordinated response to these violations. By bringing reporting, verification, privacy safeguards, legal referrals and case tracking into one system, the Observatory moves beyond documenting incidents to supporting action and accountability.
Sustaining this work will require continued collaboration with media organisations, journalist associations, civil society, legal practitioners and relevant institutions, alongside greater awareness of available reporting mechanisms.
Report a violation: report.iawrt.or.ke
Email: reports@iawrt.or.ke
Note: The IAWRT Safety Monitor is not an emergency response service.
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