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Charlene Miwa Nagae from Tornavoz: Global Media Defence Fund Video Interview Series
A single lawsuit might be enough to completely shut down the initiatives or to prevent journalists from doing their work.
First interviewee Charlene Miwa Nagae is Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Brazilian civil society organisation , founded and led by women lawyers, that provides gender-specialized legal defense for journalists facing legal threats. During the interview, Charlene highlights the GMDF-funded project Defending Female Voices, which supports the legal assistance of women journalists and the media outlets they lead. She also reflects on the particular challenges women journalists face, including judicial harassment, online and physical violence.
The urgent need for gender-specific protection was underscored in UNESCO鈥檚 The Chilling report, which demonstrated the extent of online gender-based violence against women journalists. In this context, Tornavoz鈥檚 work is an immensely valuable contribution to women journalists鈥 legal safety.
Charlene further explains that criminal defamation remains one of the most pressing issues. Charlene states: 鈥淲e know it will be a long run. It will take years to change this, but we must start鈥.
The series features discussions with partners from the Global Media Defence Fund who have been implementing projects around the legal defence of journalists, investigative journalism for crimes against journalists and strategic litigation. Guests are invited to shed light on the crucial work they have undertaken to defend press freedom and protect journalists on the ground. Additionally, the series includes conversations with journalists who have received support through GMDF-funded projects, highlighting the direct impact of these initiatives.
Through this new series, GMDF aims to showcase the real-world effects of GMDF-funded projects and introduce press freedom defenders to a wider audience.
Established within the framework of the Global Campaign for Media Freedom and under the overall umbrella of the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, the Global Media Defence Fund is a UNESCO Multi-Partner Trust Fund, initiated by the contributions from the United Kingdom and Canada. Administered by UNESCO, the Fund serves as a responsive and effective mechanism to support not-for-profit organizations working locally, regionally and internationally in undertaking or upscaling projects aimed at strengthening journalists鈥 legal protection and enhancing media freedom through investigative journalism or strategic litigation.
Over 5 years of implementation, the Fund has supported over 150 projects around the world, benefiting over 8000 journalists, 1400 lawyers and 300 media organizations. This includes over 1000 instances of legal assistance provided, 230 journalistic investigations conducted, and 170 strategic litigation actions undertaken.
