UNESCO is the lead UN Agency for promoting freedom of expression and safety of journalists as part of its mandate to “promote the free flow of ideas by word and image”.
Clémence Petit
PhD student at UCLouvain
Direct violence structural violence safety normative roles journalism studies peace studies
My research project aims to establish a typology of the various forms of violence that journalists encounter in the French-speaking region of Belgium. Another objective is to describe the coping and response mechanisms that journalists adopt when dealing with such violence, and to examine how this violence poses a threat to the practice of journalism and, consequently, to democracy.
Definition of journalists' safety
My research draws a parallel between journalists' safety and Johan Galtung's concepts of positive and negative peace. Negative peace, as defined by Galtung, refers to the absence of personal violence in a society, while positive peace refers to the absence of structural violence. In my study, I investigate both direct and structural violence, including physical, digital, psycho-social, judicial, and other forms.Future plans for research on journalists' safety
I would like to conduct a comparative analysis of my data with the findings from the latest survey of the Worlds of Journalism study, which includes several items related to journalists' safety. By comparing my data with this larger study, I hope to gain a better understanding of the current state of journalists' safety and identify areas where additional research and advocacy may be needed.- Research focuses:
- Digital, Financial, Legal, Physical, Psychological, systemic discrimination
- Methods used in research:
- Surveys, Interviews
- Countries of research focus:
- Belgium (French-speaking region only)
