Press Freedom and Safety of Journalists in Africa: A Scoping Review

What is it about?

Press freedom ensures accountability, transparency and democracy, and protects journalists’ lives. Despite constitutional guarantees and international conventions in promoting press freedom, journalists in Africa continue to face grave dangers. This study presents a scoping review on press freedom and safety of journalists in Africa. A total of 66 articles were identified from Scopus, ProQuest and Google Scholar databases. The yearly distribution of articles indicates a growing interest in the field. Nigeria emerged as a focal point of research, with dire challenges faced by journalists. The findings reveal pervasive threats against journalists, ranging from physical assaults to death threats, psychological abuse, and self-censorship. Politically motivated attacks, especially during elections, emerged as a significant concern, hindering journalists’ ability to report freely. To promote press freedom and the safety of journalists, the study suggests government intervention to enforce existing laws, the establishment of robust legal frameworks, and strong journalists’ associations to advocate for journalists’ rights. Additionally, the study identifies key future research areas focusing on press freedom, journalists’ safety, media legal frameworks and online harassment. Overall, this study underscores the urgent need for concerted efforts to safeguard press freedom and the safety of journalists, particularly in regions where journalists face heightened risks.

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Why is it important?

Journalists remain the 'eye' of societies across the globe for the betterment of humankind but they constantly face harassment from entities within the same society on whose behalf they work. Hence, the need to find ways to protect journalists and media generally is needful as this article advances.