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IAWRT Safety of Women Journalists
Africa monitoring

Reports

236 published reports, reviewed and fact-checked by IAWRT.

Physical violence

Police assault female journalist while covering demonstrations in Dakar, Senegal

Fatou Diop was physically assaulted in the Senegalese capital Dakar by police officers while covering a demonstration by the Collective for the Release of Political Prisoners (Collectif pour la libération des prisonniers politiques – COLIDEP) on November 5, 2022. The group was holding a series of demonstrations for th…

Fatou Dione
Reporter not named 5 Nov 2021 · Senegal Verified

Arrest and Detention

Female Rwandan YouTuber jailed for 15 years after anti-govt posts

Yvonne Idamange, a 42-year-old YouTube commentator and a survivor of the 1994 genocide, was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Thursday, September 30, 2021. She was accused of inciting violence after she posted critical videos on the performance of President Paul Kagame on her YouTube channel. Yvonne was arrested on F…

Source: New Times Rwanda
Reporter not named 30 Sep 2021 · Rwanda Verified

Physical violenceHarassment and surveillance +1

Liberian journalist Aryee Davis threatened, harassed online over reporting on alleged fraud

Liberian authorities should investigate the threats received by journalist Aryee Davis and ensure that she can work safely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. In mid-June, a Facebook user named “Gedeh Eagleeyes” sent multiple threatening messages to Davis, founder of the Facebook-based news outlet Grain…

Aryee Davis
Reporter not named 1 Jul 2021 · Liberia Verified

Intimidation and threatsHarassment and surveillance +2

Journalist Reem Abdellatif on the risks facing female reporters who cover the Gulf

The trolling started after Reem Abdellatif, a prominent Egyptian-American journalist now based in The Netherlands, published her first column in December for the Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz. Titled “How I escaped Saudi Arabia, the Kingdom that terrorizes women,” it described the challenges she faced as a female jo…

Reem Abdellatif
Reporter not named 21 Mar 2021 · Egypt Verified

Physical violence

Uganda Journalist Assaulted by UPDF Officers

In Busia, Uganda, a female journalist was assaulted by officers of the Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF) while covering events at a taxi park. This attack is part of a broader pattern of state actors targeting journalists, with women often facing compounded risks due to their gender​.

Reporter not named 10 Feb 2021 · Uganda Verified

Physical violenceIntimidation and threats

Journalist attacked, threatened in her Addis Ababa home

Armed intruders physically attacked and threatened an Ethiopian freelance journalist in her Addis Ababa home with the clear aim of intimidating her in connection with her reporting. “Next time we’ll hit you harder," Lucy Kassa was told by the three armed men in civilian clothes who forced their way into her home on 8 …

Reporter not named 8 Feb 2021 · Ethiopia Verified

Physical violenceHarassment and surveillance

Liberian Journalists Rally After Female Reporter, Bettie Mbayo Beaten Up

Dozens of Liberian journalists gathered outside a courthouse near the capital Monrovia on January 21, 2021 to support a female colleague who was allegedly assaulted on a politician's orders. Investigative journalist Bettie Mbayo told AFP that Marvin Cole, an elected representative in the West African nation, had orde…

Photo by Bettie Mbayo (Linkedin)
Reporter not named 21 Jan 2021 · Liberia Verified

Online disinformation and propaganda

Serwaa Amihere, a journalist with GH One TV in Ghana announce that she has developed a tougher skin for cyberbullying

Serwaa Amihere remained one of the most abused journalists in Ghana.Three months after she announced that she had developed a tougher skin for cyberbullying; she tweeted in a now-deleted post last December: “I’m done,” followed by another post, “If I ever come back to life I’ll never do this job.” This was in response…

Serwaa Amihere, a journalist with GH One TV in Ghana announce that she has developed a tougher skin for cyberbullying
Reporter not named 13 Jan 2021 · Ghana Verified

Physical violenceHarassment and surveillance

Police beat, detain journalist covering opposition candidates ahead of Uganda elections

Esther Kirabo has been involved in reporting on protests and police harassment in Uganda, particularly during periods of political unrest. One notable incident occurred during Uganda's general elections in January 2021, when security forces harassed journalists and shut down media outlets. Kirabo’s coverage of such ev…

Reporter not named 7 Jan 2021 · Uganda Verified

Physical violence

Algeria: Journalist Abeer Bin Rabeh Was Physically Assaulted For The Third Time By Criminal Facebook Page Owners

On November 18, Journalist Abeer was stabbed and her car crushed by the owners of a criminal Facebook page that blackmails minors. The journalist was hospitalized, needing 18 stitches in her leg. This assault followed another attack on the journalist the day before, where she was beaten by the same group. This is the …

Algeria: Journalist Abeer Bin Rabeh Was Physically Assaulted For The Third Time By Criminal Facebook Page Owners
Reporter not named 20 Nov 2020 · Algeria Verified

Digital threatsOnline disinformation and propaganda

Algeria journalist hospitalised after facing threats for uncovering online abuse

A medical examination reportedly concluded that Benrabah was suffering from internal bleeding due to high blood pressure An Algerian journalist was hospitalised at the weekend after receiving numerous online threats over her work. Abir Benrabah was transferred to intensive care on Sunday after feeling unwell. Her il…

Abir Benrabah
Reporter not named 11 Nov 2020 · Algeria Verified

Physical violenceHarassment and surveillance +1

Liberian journalists harassed, arrested by security forces

On February 13, police arrested Methuselah Gaye, a journalist with the privately owned Fabric Radio broadcaster, at his home in Yarpah Town, in south-central Liberia’s Rivercess County, and detained him for 12 hours, the journalist told CPJ in a phone interview. Police detained him for about five hours in Yarpah Town…

Liberian journalists
Reporter not named 18 Mar 2020 Verified

Physical violenceIntimidation and threats +4

Sexualised, Silenced and Labelled Satan’ — horrific levels of online violence targeting women journalists

Prolific gendered disinformation, homophobic abuse, racist hate speech, and threats of extreme sexual violence characterise the online violence experienced by veteran South African journalists Ferial Haffajee, Pauli van Wyk, and Rebecca Davis, also Rebecca Davis, a prominent journalist, has expressed concerns about t…

Reporter not named 6 Mar 2020 · South Africa Verified

Harassment and surveillanceOnline disinformation and propaganda

Laura Otieno, currently a reporter at Citizen TV, faced online harassment from a source who had insisted on having his story published.

Laura Otieno, who is currently a reporter at Citizen TV, equally faced online harassment from a source who had insisted on having his story published yet it did not meet the editorial threshold. Laura decided to take a break from social media and when she decided to rejoin, she was still being trolled. “I decided thi…

Laura otieno, source/Citizen TV
Reporter not named 1 Feb 2020 · Kenya Verified

Physical violenceArrest and Detention

Woman reporter beaten by police while covering protest in DRC

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is shocked to learn that a woman reporter was badly beaten by police and detained for several hours when she covered a protest in a provincial town in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The police officers responsible must be immediately identified and punished, RSF says. Bondeko commun…

Justine Lifombi
Reporter not named 20 Jan 2020 · Dem. Rep. Congo Verified

Harassment and surveillanceDenial of access +1

Detained woman journalist pressured by interrogator, harassed by prison staff

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) reiterates its call for the release of Solafa Magdy, a detained Egyptian journalist who is being subjected to psychological pressure during interrogation and repeatedly harassed by prison staff, and whose health has worsened significantly. She needs urgent medical treatment that is unav…

Solafa Magdy
Reporter not named 26 Nov 2019 · Egypt Verified

Physical violenceIntimidation and threats

Presidential Guards Beat Up Female Journalists

Esther Marie Samura and Frances Bernard Bundoh were on the presidential stand at the national stadium, covering the FIFA return leg of the qualifying match for the 2023 World Cup, when presidential guards threatened and brutally beat them. Both journalists sustained injuries; one was hospitalised over a fortnight wit…

https://apanews.net/sierra-leone-union-calls-for-justice-for-assault-on-journalists-by-presidential-guards/
Reporter not named 8 Sep 2019 · Sierra Leone Verified

Physical violenceHarassment and surveillance +1

Female Egyptian journalist Abeer Al-Safti subjected to sexual harassment in prison

Female Egyptian journalist Abeer Al-Safti has been subjected to sexual harassment in prison, Arabi21 reported on July 10, 2019. Following the incident, Director of the Committee for Justice Ahmed Mefreh said: “Several female journalists are subjected to sexual harassment in the prisons of the Egyptian regime when the…

Female Egyptian journalist Abeer Al-Safti [Facebook]
Reporter not named 10 Jul 2019 · Egypt Verified

Intimidation and threatsDigital threats +1

Botswana: Politician ridicules female journalist on social media

The Botswana Allied and Media Workers Union (BOMAWU) accused the leader of the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) Dithapelo Keorapetse, of posting a picture of a female journalist on social media in a clear attempt to intimidate her when reporting. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) condemned the pub…

Botswana journalist
Reporter not named 26 Jun 2019 · Botswana Verified

Harassment and surveillanceOnline disinformation and propaganda

ADELLE HITS BACK AT NYAKUNDI OVER RAPE REMARKS

Adelle Onyango a top radio presenter with Kiss 100 hit out against controversial blogger in Kenya; Cyprian Nyakundi for instigating rape against her. The blogger made ruthless post against Adelle after her TED talk against the rape culture in Kenya, Nyakundi posted on twitter “Adelle Onyango gave a powerful speech aga…

Cyprian Nyakundi instigates rape against Adelle in a social media post
Reporter not named 23 Oct 2017 · Kenya Verified