Every year, on 2 November, the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists reminds us that freedom of expression and the right to information cannot be guaranteed without protecting those who make journalism possible.
Promoting rigorous journalism, committed to truth and grounded in evidence, is essential to any democratic society. Journalism must serve to inform, verify facts and contribute to public debate, rather than provide a platform for personal attacks, discrediting or defamation. However, this demand for professional responsibility must go hand in hand with a collective commitment to the safety and dignity of journalists themselves.
Research on journalists’ digital security highlights the growing challenges they face in an increasingly digital environment, as well as the need to strengthen training, protection protocols and institutional support. Digital security is no longer an optional skill but an essential condition for the exercise of independent journalism.
This situation is particularly concerning for women journalists, who face specific forms of violence, including (online) harassment, gender-based threats, sexualised intimidation and coordinated defamation campaigns. Research shows that 29% of media and newsroom professionals worldwide experience sexual harassment in the workplace, highlighting the extent of gender-based violence within the media industry. These attacks not only threaten women’s personal safety but can also restrict their participation in public debate, undermine their professional independence and ultimately silence their voices.
Defending journalism therefore involves a dual responsibility: demanding rigour, ethics and accountability in the information being published, while ensuring that no journalist has to put their safety or integrity at risk to fulfil their professional duties.
Protecting journalists means protecting everyone’s right to be informed. Without the safety of journalists, there can be no freedom of the press; without freedom of the press, there can be no fully democratic society.
Serra Húnter Fellow of Sociology at Universitat Rovira i Virgili.
Former DAAD-Gastprofessorin at Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg