04 Informed


News Update


Survey showing violence to NUJ members will inform safety plan


Mat Kenyon


One in five journalists who took part in an NUJ survey said they had been physically assaulted while doing their job, with 27 per cent saying they had been threatened with violence. Michelle Stanistreet said: “Such abuse and harassment goes beyond the awful personal impact – it also risks silencing journalists and censoring debates.” Tose surveyed reported knife atacks,


firebombs thrown at their homes and been punched, pushed or kicked. Others were spat at, had eggs thrown at them and their addresses published on social media platforms. Te perpetrators of the violence and threats included paramilitary members, the police, security guards, far-right demonstrators, members of the public, political “minders” and criminals. More than half (55 per cent) said the abuse had affected their mental health and well-being and they had been forced to make changes to the way they worked, with 19 per cent saying they moved address. More than half (51 per cent) said they had received online abuse in the past year, with one in five experiencing it on daily, weekly or monthly basis. Journalists were vulnerable when covering sectarian activity, demonstrations, football and, increasingly, court cases, with members being threatened for reporting the sentences of rapists. Tose surveyed agreed the political polarisation caused by Brexit, the Scotish referendum and the coarsening of public discourse in the UK had had an adverse impact on the safety of journalists. Te failure of social platforms such as Twiter and Facebook to stop the abuse led to journalists being seen as fair game. Most respondents agreed that disinformation and fake


annual survey of journalists, supported by employers and the NUJ. • Create and host a free online toolkit/ support pack for journalists. • Engage with the UK police and NCTJ


to review training offered and improve understanding of the safety challenges facing journalists. • Explore how to support an emergency


safety fund for journalists. On the international day (2 November)


news undermined trust in journalism and increased hostility towards journalists. A third of those surveyed said employers could do more to protect journalists at work. Patricia Devlin, a crime reporter working for Belfast’s Sunday World newspaper, complained to the Police Ombudsman of Northern Ireland aſter the police failed adequately to investigate a serious threat made to her, despite her supplying the name of the perpetrator. She said that, as a journalist exposing criminals and paramilitaries, she became used to being threatened: “But, when I received a threat to rape my new-born baby, also identifying my grandmother and the location of where the sender believed she lived, I’d had enough,” she said. Te NUJ and Amnesty are supporting


Patricia’s her case and her details, plus the survey, were used to compile a report for the government’s National Commitee for the Safety and Protection of Journalists – the NUJ general secretary is a member of the commitee drawing up an action plan and it will be discussing proposed measures such as: • Collaborate in an industry-wide


to end impunity for crimes against journalists the International Federation of Journalist demanded governments take urgent steps to put an end to that impunity and protect press freedom. In the past decade almost 1,000 journalists have been killed (30 this year) .


Key findings • 21% of respondents reported


physical assaults or atacks and 27 per cent said they had been physically threatened.


• 51 % said they had experienced online abuse in the past year. • 78 % said “abuse and harassment has become normalised and seen as part of the job”.


• 55 % said the abuse had affected their wellbeing and mental health. • 96 % said that abuse and


harassment risked silencing journalists and censoring debate. • 94 % agreed the polarisation of debate and public discourse in the UK put journalists at risk and that politicians had a role in defending press freedom.


• 93 % said social media platforms did litle to deter and stop abuse. • 33 % agreed employers could do


more to protect journalists at work. Survey details: www.nuj.org.uk/ documents/nuj-safety-report-2020/


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