ON THE occasion of the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists (IDEI) 2025, the Safer-Media Initiative (SMI) has launched a major project designed to address the increasing threat of technology-facilitated violence against journalists and other media professionals.
The project, themed: “AIM (AI and Media) Project: Navigating the Present, Shaping the Future”, was announced by Mr Peter Iorter, the Executive Director/CEO of SMI, on Sunday in Abuja, Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
According to Iorter, in his announcement; “This project is launched in tandem with the IDEI theme, which specifically highlights the impact of these threats on women journalists. The AIM project addresses the challenge of newsroom readiness for AI integration and journalists’ safety. It aims to enhance knowledge, establish safety-focused policies, and promote responsible AI use.”
The project, he said, directly aligns with UNESCO’s global theme for IDEI 2025, titled “Chat GBV: Raising Awareness on AI-facilitated Gender-Based Violence against women journalists.”
Iorter noted that the urgency of this local action comes against the backdrop of chilling global statistics, stressing that data from UNESCO indicate that a staggering number of 162 journalists were killed in the line of duty between 2023 and 2024.
Even more alarming, 85% of cases of journalists’ killings since 2006 remain unresolved or abandoned, confirming that ending impunity for these crimes is one of the most complex challenges to freedom of expression.
The severity of the crisis is further highlighted by the fact that the number of women journalists killed in 2022 reached its highest level since 2017, with 10 recorded cases.
This year’s IDEI observance shifts its focus to the growing digital battleground. While digital transformation offers opportunities, it has created heightened risks, particularly for women in public-facing roles.
Women journalists are increasingly subjected to AI-driven threats, including the rapid spread of gendered disinformation, deepfakes, surveillance, and other forms of harassment that constitute Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence (TFGBV) – a pervasive issue accelerated by generative artificial intelligence.
The IDEI 2025 campaign seeks to reinforce the implementation of the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity by addressing these new digital and persistent physical safety challenges.
Safer-Media Initiative’s commitment to this critical area has garnered international recognition. SMI was named an implementing partner and is the only organisation from Nigeria to receive funding approval this year from the Bureau of the Council of the International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC).
The IPDC Bureau, at its 69th meeting held at UNESCO Headquarters on June 19, 2025, approved funding for SMI’s project, placing it among 21 new media development projects worldwide.
Of these, nine (43%) will be implemented in Africa, five (24%) in Asia and the Pacific, three (14%) in Latin America and the Caribbean, one (5%) in the Arab States, and three (14%) in Central and Eastern Europe.
The International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC) is a UNESCO program that strengthens independent media in developing countries. It acts as the UN’s only multilateral forum for media development, providing funding, setting standards, and promoting freedom of expression, journalist safety, and access to information.
Recognised by the United Nations, the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists (IDEI) is observed annually on November 2.
IDEI draws attention to the level of impunity for crimes against journalists, which remains extremely high globally.
