Reporting Hard News: Female Journalists take it on with Organized Crime

A mere glance through any newsroom in Uganda shows one the higher concentration of female journalists in reporting soft news. Soft news is categorical to health, culture, family or presenters of edutainment programs. Rarely do we see female journalists report on hard news issues among which, organized crimes, a prevailing urgent issue for Uganda to curb.

Recently, UMWA has empowered 150 female journalists with the required skill set to contribute and increase their participation of news reporting on organized crimes, a national interest area violating women and girls rights.

In partnership with Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, UMWA through this project aims at improving gender responsiveness and inclusivity in media reporting of organized crimes. The key redress areas are: knowledge and skills gaps among female journalists, safety and security question and intersectional strategies to increase female journalists contribution to the media role on organized crime coverage.

From three districts of Kampala, Wakiso and Mukono, the trainees were taught on the value of female journalists in reporting organized crimes and, the safety and security tips to thrive in the risky coverage of issues. This was in context of a needs assessment that highlighted the gender gaps of female contribution to the thematic area.

The International Federation of Journalists in 2017 revealed that one in two female journalists have faced violence based on gender. Similarly, UNESCO discovered that 9% of 400 killings of journalists between 2016-2020 were of female journalists caused by various perpetrators like sources, security organs.

In Uganda, the 2020 GMMP report indicates that women journalists are only 33% likely to report on “crime and violence” due to the manifesting gendered threats and risks. This low presence of female journalists in crime related reporting only but creates and reinforces the gender gaps and insensitivities on women and other marginalized groups in stories done on organized crimes.

The needs assessment conducted in May 2023, as one of the project activities discovered that whereas 71% of the female journalists demonstrated to have knowledge on organized crime and media reporting, only 20% had the skills to report on issue and only 15% had safety and security skills required.

The least participation in reporting on organized crimes by female journalists is attributed to among which, gaps in knowledge and skills and the safety and security abuses targeted on them as soft targets.

Female journalists engaged under this project noted that the male dominance in this field of reporting excludes them from the participatory and learning opportunities to equally exist in same space. Similarly, that as female journalists, they are perceived as soft targets for violations; physical assault, sexual harassment, intimidation and censorship hence backing off from risk.

However, upon completing a two-day training across three groups, there was increase in knowledge and skills and appreciation to take on the challenge of reporting big and creating diversity, sensitivity and responsiveness to gender issues involved in organized crime stories.

One of the trained female journalists testified that, “I have realized that reporting on organized crimes is do-able. It has just been a fear but I have learnt that even starting the story by breaking it can build brick to collaborative reporting in doing a bigger story by those with capacity on the issue. I am ready to start with the steps.”

Another participant observed that, “I had never had of organized crimes, I always knew crime as crime and actually distanced myself from such reporting because of perceived risks. On day one session I felt like, why engage us to report on these dangerous and scandalous things? But today as we conclude, my mindset has changed with a better understanding and I realize that my recent pitched story to undertake is organized crime in wildlife conservation. I may not report on humans but I am sure, I am going to save more animals after this skilling and I hope UMWA can support most of us to bring most of these evils to light.”

Following a post evaluative engagement held on August 30th, among female journalists on impact realized with the knowledge and skills gained from UMWA in June 2023 to report on organized crimes, tangible contribution and participation of the trained journalists was registered.

Majority of the trained female journalists are undertaking investigative stories on corruption, extortion, sexual exploitations and peer-peer knowledge sharing in their journalists networks/newsrooms.

One of the beneficiaries as an Editor emphasized that from the skills gained two months ago, she is empowering female journalists in her newsroom through mentorship and positive cheers to join the investigative desk. She noted that the investigative desk does the in-depth reporting among which organized crimes in her newsroom but its all male.

According to United Nations Office on Drug and Crime, organized crime is a continuing criminal enterprise that rationally works to profit from illicit activities that are often in great public demand.

The Organized Crime (OC) Index 2019 marks Uganda as High Criminality with Low Resilience, where it ranks as 12^th out of 54 African Countries and 5^th out of 9 East African Countries.

In Uganda, human trafficking remains a leading issue according to the 2022 Global Organized Crime Index. This organized crime manifests through cross-regional/border forced Labor, sex exploitation (prostitution), forced begging (children dominantly the Karamojong children on streets), and Labor Externalization to the middle East, a recent outcry of victims largely women and girls largely trafficked by labor export companies.