NUJ launches Journalists' Safety Tracker
The union is encouraging journalists to use the online reporting tool capturing incidents of harassment, abuse and “lawfare” targeted at journalists across the UK and Ireland.
The Journalists Safety Tracker enables both freelance and staff journalists to share experiences confidentially, and is launched against a backdrop of growing online and in-person threats against journalists.
The NUJ has through its seat on the National Committee for the Safety of Journalists, engaged with Ministers and key stakeholders on necessary action to improve journalists’ safety and welcomes funding contributed by the Department for Culture Media and Sport, to support the creation of the Tracker.
The online reporting tool asks a series of questions including on threats received on social media platforms, impersonation via malicious emails and the use of spyware. Journalists can also report physical violence and inform on Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) including the identities of suspected claimants.
The NUJ will collate submissions, reporting anonymously on findings whilst building an evidence base of threats against journalists. The union has stressed the need for increased investment to tackle safety and help change the normalisation of abuse against journalists carrying out their work.
Michelle Stanistreet, NUJ general secretary, said:
"Launch of the Journalists' Safety Tracker is a landmark moment directly aimed at tracking trends of the unacceptable abuse too often encountered by journalists.
“Sexist and racist language targeted at women journalists and those from minority ethnic backgrounds can now be systematically captured alongside the state-sponsored threats we know to exist.
“The NUJ wants journalists to engage with the tracker, and to help us build up a clear picture of the scale of the intimidation, threats and violence they are facing simply for doing their jobs.
“Journalism's role in our democracy should be valued by all, including by the online platforms who benefit greatly from content but fall short on measures to protect journalists online. We need employers to do more to support the journalists they employ and engage, and we need the police to step up its work to bring perpetrators to account.
“The NUJ is hoping our Journalists’ Safety Tracker will be the start of an ambitious next phase of the work of the National Committee for the Safety of Journalists, underpinned by meaningful investment by the government to stamp out what has become a scourge across our industry.”
Stephanie Peacock, Media Minister, said:
“A free press depends on our journalists' ability to do their job without abuse, attack or intimidation.
“The NUJ’s Journalists’ Safety Tracker will help us gain a real time understanding of the frequency and type of abuse news gatherers face in the UK, particularly after journalists experienced harassment while covering this summer’s riots.
“The tool delivers on a key commitment made in the National Plan for the Safety of Journalists, to improve incident reporting that will inform how we and the National Committee on the Safety of Journalists tackle these harms.”
Incidents can be submitted by any journalist in the UK or Ireland including non-NUJ members. www.journalistsafetytracker.org.uk
