The share of women among journalists killed in 2021 almost doubled, increasing from 6% in the previous year to 11%.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) expressed regret that most of the murders of journalists around the world go unpunished, and called on the leaders around the world to strengthen measures to investigate and punish the perpetrators.
According to Jahan Banou, quoted by AFP, UNESCO said in its report today: “Based on certain data, the global impunity rate for the murder of journalists has reached 86%, which has decreased by 9 points in the last ten years. However, this amount is insufficient to prevent complex acts of violence”.
Between 2020 and 2021, 117 journalists have been killed while on duty. This figure is the lowest since 2008, which the first annual report came out on this year(2008). According to UNESCO statistics, from the beginning of 2022 until September, 22 journalists were killed.
Over the past two years, in Latin America plus the Caribbean region, and to a lesser extent some Asian countries, these were the deadliest regions for journalists. Meanwhile, in an unprecedented event since 2007, in 2020, no journalists have been killed in Central and Eastern Europe.
The UNESCO report also states that only 36% of journalists that were killed in 2021, they died in military conflicts and war, and 64% of them were killed in countries where there was no sign of military confrontation.
On the other hand, this report points to an increase in the number of journalists killed during riots or demonstrations: from 2020 to 2021, six journalists were killed, and in 2016-2017 three jouralists lost their lives.
Referring to the fact that there is no safe place for journalists, UNESCO adds in its report: “Out of the 117 deaths in 2021-2020, 91 of them (approximately 8 out of 10 journalists) were outside working hours, when they were at home. They are killed in their own vehicle or on the street and not in the context of a specific mission. Several of them were killed in front of their family members, including their children”.