By Fred Deya
Thousands of journalists around the world risk their lives in their lines of duty as women media practitioners become most vulnerable, security training agency has revealed.
The International Research & Exchange Board (IREX) is restoring hope by offering security training programs for the heart -fainted journalists whose lives have been exposed to threats while executing their jobs.
The organization revealed that thousands of journalists have lost their lives, killed or tortured to death while on duty.
The measure on Journalists’ security is not only about their physical safety but also digitally, how their data is secured and psychosocially, taking care of their psychological and mental well-being.
According to IREX’s Regional Manager, Dinah Kituyi, since 1991, over 1300 journalists have lost their lives globally while doing their work. In relation to journalists’ security, IREX has been offering safe initiatives in better parts of Africa, Central America, the Middle East and Eurasia
In Kenya, it gives a flagship effort to enable media practitioners and social communicators have their safety guaranteed while executing their duties.
The media safety situation in Kenya is still in a wallowing state as most of the media outlets’ tradition is not to care about journalists’ safety but equipment’s’ safety.
Speaking during the Curriculum launch Deputy CEO of the Media Council of Kenya, Victor Bwire noted that most of Kenya’s journalists face a lot of security threats while in the field with a number of journalists losing their lives.
“So far, tens of Kenyan journalists have lost their lives as scores sustained injuries. The most vulnerable journalists are those reporting at crime scenes and those who report on corruption incidences”, said Bwire.
Bwire added of the mysterious disappearance of some journalists whose lifeless bodies have been found dumped in the thickets or thrown in rivers.
Corruption is Kenya’s major problem and most of the culprits are alleged to be politicians and would never love their names mentioned in the media about their deals. They would rather warn that particular reporter who followed their story to keep off their affairs or face consequences.
38 Journalists have been murdered so far in 2018 and the figures are speculated to rise this is according to the data by Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
“Journalists’ security is not only about the physical safety of individuals but more of digital. Some journalists enter bloody scenes on duty that lead to traumatize them. For that matter, we train reporters on how they can go through such incidences”, said IREX representative.
In the last 5 years, IREX’ Basic Training Curriculum was collaboratively developed by its local teams from five regions of East Africa, Central America, Eurasia, and MENA.
