Canada announces new funding for Journalists for Human Rights to support objective, credible and fact-based reporting on the rights of women and girls in developing countries

Project: Canada World: Voice for Women and Girls
Funding recipient: Journalists for Human Rights (JHR)
Funding: $11,764,838 over four years (2019 to 2023)

In partnership with respected Canadian media organizations (Global News, CTV, CBC, APTN News, La Presse, National Post), Journalists for Human Rights (JHR) will work in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Kenya and the Middle East to help the media protect the rights of citizens, particularly women and girls. The selection of countries was driven by the situation and status of women and girls in the respective countries and by JHR’s strong local partners.

In the DRC, Congolese women face numerous systemic inequalities, while enduring high levels of gender-based violence. Some 75% of media content in the DRC is created by men or focuses on their experiences; when women are represented, it is often in stereotypical roles.

Kenya ranks 63rd out of 144 countries in the World Economic Forum’s 2016 Gender Gap Index, and a recent Global Report on the Status of Women in the News Media discloses a disparity between the number of female and male journalists in newsrooms.

Jordan ranks 134th out of 144 countries in the 2016 Gender Gap Index. Women face significant barriers to finding employment in the media. According to the 2013 Palgrave International Handbook of Women and Journalism, the gender ratio of men to women in Jordanian newsrooms is 5:1.

To address these vital issues, the project will aim to:

• increase the participation of women in the journalistic profession and in the management and editorial cadres of media organizations;
• increase the quantity and quality of media coverage of issues affirming the link between gender equality and human rights, such as women’s and girl’s access to education and health care, human rights violations, including early and forced marriage, sexual abuse and exploitation, and lack of economic rights for women;
• support and train women’s organizations to work with the media to better convey messages to the public and to decision makers.