International Press Institute (IPI) Executive Director Barbara Trionfi joined a panel on the safety of female journalists online (#SOFJO) as part of the 2018 Human Dimension Implementation Meeting (HDIM) in Warsaw, Poland. The HDIM, organized by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is Europe’s largest annual human rights and democracy conference. It is organized every year by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) as a platform for the 57 OSCE participating States, the OSCE Partners for Co-operation, OSCE structures, civil society, international organizations and other relevant actors to take stock of the implementation of OSCE human dimension commitments, discuss associated challenges, share good practices and make recommendations for further improvement.

IPI has conducted pioneering research work on online harassment of journalists and is currently leading a project to collect and share measures adopted by newsrooms across Europe to combat this growing challenge. IPI is a close partner of the OSCE’s #SOFJO project.

Panel description:

Democracy thrives when a plurality of voices are heard online. Though harassment of journalists online is not a new problem, it has become evident that the online harassment of female journalists is a cause for particular concern as a significant obstacle to freedom of expression. But the short and long-term effects of online violence against female journalists still need to be better understood.

During this panel, we heard from experts from international and civil society organizations who are working to close the gaps in terms of research on this horrifying trend as well as from women journalists themselves on their experiences and account of online harassment and the results this type of abuse has when it comes to their work on and offline.

Speakers:

•  Harlem Désir, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media
•  Marika Griehsel, Project manager and head of global research project on prevention of hatred and threat to journalists, FOJO Media Institute
•  Barbara Trionfi, Executive director, International Press Institute
•  Arzu Geybullayeva, Freelance journalist
•  Maria Siakalli, Media expert and journalist

SOFJO Panel

  • Wednesday, September 5, 2018 (13:15 – 14:15)
  • Sofitel Victoria Warsaw Królewska Hotel, St. 11 00-65 Warsaw, Poland
  • More information about the HDIM meeting, including the agenda, can be found here.
  • To register for the HDIM meeting, please contact Anna Sierant at [email protected].
    • For information on IPI’s participation in this event, please contact info(at)ipi(media)