PROGRAM FOR PROMOTING DIGITAL AND PHYSICAL SAFETY OF JOURNALISTS

Project Period: 2020 –2021
Funded by: Internews

Journalists across the world are facing pressure and threats while covering news on conflict-sensitive issues. Journalists and media actors in Bangladesh are also not immune. They are
facing threats and risks from hackers, criminal groups, and religious extremists. Compounding
this increasingly hostile operational environment is a sector influenced by corporate ownership
and political allegiances, resulting in self-censorship of the individual journalist and editorial
levels. 
The rise of hacking risks, violence by extremist groups, and heightened state surveillance on
journalists and bloggers have created a sense of urgency for greater digital, physical,
psychosocial and legal security among journalists, bloggers, and human rights defenders.
To face the challenges, Internews supported News Network to implement a project titled,
‘Program for Promoting Digital and Physical Safety of Journalists’ was launched in April 2020
and ended in March 2021, aimed at strengthening digital safety and physical security for
journalists and access to resources. The project activities included the Training of Journalists
Trainers (ToT) and trained journalists on digital and physical safety were implemented in
Dhaka, Chattogram, Sylhet, Khulna, and Barisal divisional headquarters.