Gifty Afenyi-Dadzie, Prof. Amin Alhassan and other dignitaries at the launch
The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) has urged media organisations in the country to adopt and implement journalists’ safety policies to protect media practitioners from physical attacks, intimidation, online harassment and other threats associated with their work.
This call was made at a public forum on “Ending Impunity for Crimes against journalists in Ghana: Strengthening Safety, Accountability and Press Freedom” and the launch of Model Safety of Journalists Policy in Accra.
Speaking at the event, former President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), Mrs.Gifty Afenyi-Dadzie, Esq, described journalists safety as a fundamental requirement for democracy, stressing that attacks on journalists undermine not only press freedom but also the public’s right to information and accountability.
She said journalists who investigate corruption, expose illegal mining and question public officials, perform an important democratic role, stressing, “When journalists are intimidated into silence, the public loses its eyes and ears. When attacks against journalists go unpunished, the entire society pays the cost.”
Mrs. Afenyi-Dadzie emphasised that protecting journalists must be a shared responsibility involving government, law enforcement agencies, media owners and civil society organisations.
Also, presenting on the findings from research that informed the development of the model policy, University of Media, Arts and Communications ( UniMAC- IJ) lecturer, Dr. Martin Thompson Ntem, highlighted some gaps in safety arrangements within Ghanaian media organisations.
He disclosed that the research found that approximately 81 per cent of respondents had experienced some form of attack which included verbal abuse, physical assault, online harassment, legal threats and the seizure of journalistic equipment.
He also revealed that even though some respondents indicated that their organisations had safety policies, further examination of the documents showed that none of the media houses assessed had a comprehensive, formal journalists safety policy.
Dr. Ntem explained that some organisations mistook employment conditions, staff contracts and collective bargaining agreements for comprehensive safety policies, adding that documents examined lacked essential provisions such as physical safety protocols, digital security measures, risk assessment procedures, psychological support and legal protection.
He highlighted that journalists safety in Ghana was largely dependent on individual judgement and the discretion of editors rather than structured institutional systems.
He compared this with international best practices, which place responsibility for journalists’ safety on media organisations through established systems of prevention, protection and response.
Dr. Ntem stressed that the guiding principle of the policy is safety first, news second, noting that its effectiveness would depend on implementation, continuous training and adequate resources.
The Minister for Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations, Samuel Nartey George, Esq, also called on media organisations to strengthen professional self-regulation, stressing that the media industry must take responsibility for maintaining ethical standards rather than creating room for excessive government regulation.
He further outlined some measures for media organisations and professionals, thus enforcing their codes of ethics, sanctioning members who breach professional standards, improving complaints mechanisms, correcting errors openly and applying ethical standards consistently across political divides.
He warned that online threats, impersonation, harassment and artificial intelligence-generated deepfakes are creating new challenges for journalists, where women journalists often face gender-based abuse.
He assured stakeholders that efforts to combat disinformation would not be used as an excuse to suppress legitimate criticism, investigative journalism or freedom of speech.
The minister stated that the media should not be regarded as an enemy of government for asking difficult questions, noting that constructive scrutiny helps governments identify and correct their mistakes, while reaffirming government’s commitment to press freedom and accountability.
The Model Safety of Journalists Policy provides guidance on assessing risks before assignments, identifying high-risk environments, responding to emergencies and assigning clear safety responsibilities to newsroom managers, editors and other relevant personnel.
By Florence Adom Asamoah