Attacked

Solo work is becoming more common, especially for broadcast and video journalists. However, working alone can make journalists vulnerable to physical assault. For assignments in locations such as neighborhoods with high crime rates, protests, or remote areas, it is advisable that journalists do not work alone.

Journalists have long faced threats in reprisal for their work, and in the internet era, attackers can leverage information published on social media and professional websites to hack, abuse, shame, or defame their target.

Sexual violence can take many forms, including sexual and physical assaults. Any individual can be the subject of sexual misconduct, but journalists are often at risk from a range of people, including sources and members of the public, while they are reporting. That risk is heightened for female or gender non-conforming journalists.

Washington, D.C., August 30, 2019 — Ukrainian authorities must immediately investigate the recent attack on blogger Igor Stakh, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

On August 17, 2019, a group of men physically attacked Owen Jones, a columnist for the U.K. daily newspaper The Guardian, his employer reported.

New York, August 16, 2019—The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned the issuing of an arrest warrant and a raid on the home of Hassan Sabah, a reporter for the Iraqi news broadcaster INEWS, in Basra, and called on Iraqi authorities to allow journalists to work freely and without fear of retaliation for their reporting.

Taipei, August 14, 2019—The Committee to Protect Journalists today expressed concern over an assault on a Chinese reporter covering pro-democracy protests at Hong Kong International Airport yesterday.

Miami, August 13, 2019–The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned a shooting attack on Haitian journalist Luckson Saint-Vil in southern Haiti last week, and urged Haitian authorities to investigate threats against Saint-Vil and identify and prosecute the attackers.

Bangkok, August 9, 2019 – An American journalist working in the Philippines was shot and critically wounded on August 6 while retrieving his daughter from school in the northern province of Ifugao, according to his outlet and other press reports.

Miami, August 8, 2019–A municipal court of the Cuban city of Guantánamo yesterday sentenced Roberto Jesús Quiñones, a contributor to the news website CubaNet, to one year in prison on charges of “resistance” and “disobedience,” according to advocacy group Cuban Institute for Freedom of Expression and of the Press and media reports.