Women media watchdog condemns harassment of male journalists
The Uganda Media Women Association (UMWA), a non governmental Organisation advocating for the rights and freedoms of women journalists, on Monday pointed out that recent trends indicate increased victimisation of male journalists than their female counterparts.
Joanita Nankya, UMWA Media Monitoring Program officer, says high victimisation of male journalists in line of their duties by state and none state actors, is attributed to the fact that female journalists are not assigned by their editors to undertake tasks of news gathering at chaotic scenes.
She was addressing journalists at UMWA head office, located at Mama FM head premises in Kisaasi, a Kampala suburb.
“The recent scenes of riots in Kampala and upcountry districts saw only male journalists falling victims of brutality in the cause of carrying out their duties. This is mainly attributed to the fact that female journalists are not as daring as their male counterparts, when it comes to confronting chaotic scenes of rioting gangs”, she said.
She further said there is need for media owners, Editors and Political players to recognise the importance of gender inclusiveness and respect of journalists’ fundamental human rights.
UMWA program officer in charge of Gender, Clothilda Babirekere said their organisation is implementing an 18 months project, with support from Democratic Governance Facility (DGF), code named; “Media for Gender Equality and Socio Justice: Leaving no one behind”, implemented in Kampala, Mbarara and Hoima districts.
