Women journalists amp up fight against COVID-19 in Eastern Africa

An inaugural database of Eastern Africa female journalists across the region supports beneficiaries’ registration and work across diverse fields – including health and education. Reference content and links to good practices on reporting that is readily accessible, importantly sustains the promotion of ethical and gender conscious global health reporting. There is increased awareness of the position of women journalists to affect the presentation and representation of the female gender in the news, particularly in this time of crisis.

Another participant from Somalia shared how the course on identifying gendered roles and impact stories is shaping her work.

The six courses developed and delivered, offered new and refreshing insights for the women trained despite their diverse range of level of expertise. Ten modules developed per course (including 1- 3 videos, quizzes and assignments), complemented by weekly live mentoring sessions and four pre-planned learning plan options, ensured flexibility in learning amidst the need to fast adapt to unusual working modalities as a result of the crisis. 

Learning outcomes address key issues such as misinformation and journalists’ safety through improved knowledge on:

1. Balanced Health and Science Journalism
2. Accessing, Interpreting and Fact-checking Scientific Information
3. Ethical Health Reporting
4. Identifying Gendered Angles
5. Safety of Journalists, online and offline and;
6. Automated Journalism

The importance of the visibility of African women cannot be overstated. Without visibility, women are left out of the narrative. The Wikimedia training and editathon achieved two major objectives; it increased the number of East African women Wikipedia editors by 113, and it created 42 new profiles and articles on Wikipedia of East African women doing exemplary work in response to COVID19, with an additional 76 profiles edited.

In a reflection on a study conducted on the impact of COVID on Eastern African Women Journalists conducted within the framework of the project, Guy Berger, IPDC Secretary says that, “The pandemic is a setback to the media, and especially to women journalists’ role in media. In turn, this is a setback for achieving gender equality in society and sustainable development for all.” The report, which captures the lived experiences of East African women journalists in COVID times, highlights the dire challenges of female journalists at the frontline of the ravaging pandemic and possible solutions to ease conditions.

Of 108 respondents to a survey, a staggering 63 % said they were affected, 52% placed on unpaid leave and 11% of the respondents lost their jobs. The responses paint a grim picture for the future of women journalists in the region. Violence against women journalists, particularly online, remains unabated. Even with 61.4% reporting lesser incidents of sexual harassment (largely attributed to less physical proximity), conversely, online harassment is on the rise, experienced by 63.9% of the women interviewed for the study. Some women journalists do not have employer supplied protective gear (43.5%). A large percentage, 69.7%, reported elevated levels of stress and worry over their welfare, and almost half, 46.3%, reported not having employer provided psychosocial support.

“Decades of research has shown that women journalists face challenging work environments in the journalism industry.” Dr. Yemisi Akinbobola, co-founder and CEO of African Women in Media is hopeful that the study is useful to academia and policy makers in preparing and adapting to change.

Targeted rescue packages for media are urgent. Medium-term subsidy funds have to be set up to sustain jobs in journalism - if society is to have a supply of independent public information.  And all this must be gender-transformative in its impact.

Combating the pandemic and its ‘long tail’ effects also means discrimination in the newsrooms has to cease. For the safety of women journalists, there can no longer be impunity for those who threaten and attack them. Monitoring is vital to track all crimes against women journalists and whether the perpetrators face justice. States have to strengthen their duty to protect. In this way, a strong media infrastructure, with equality and safety for women journalists, will help us to build back better.