The IWMF is committed to helping improve the ability of journalists to report safely in an increasingly complex world, and improve their situational awareness, self-defense and first aid skills. Since 2014, we have organized over 50 Hostile Environment and First Aid Training (HEFAT) courses that have trained more than 700 journalists from diverse mediums, outlets, and levels of experience. In-person HEFAT trainings typically last four days, with at least 50 percent of the course focused on training through practical, realistic scenarios.

Through the Safety In Numbers program, the IWMF is organizing HEFAT trainings for journalists in the following regions: sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Asia Pacific between 2024 and 2026. If you are a journalist in Africa, apply for our training before December 31, 2024.

The IWMF also coordinates virtual HEFAT courses and physical safety workshops for groups and newsrooms; contact programs@iwmf.org for more information. We encourage you to subscribe to our mailing list and to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter to stay up to date on our latest training opportunities.

I cannot emphasize enough how important the skills I learned from HEFAT – through IWMF’s support – were to keeping me safe. -Alice Su, Howard G. Buffett Fund for Women Journalists Grantee and IWMF Reporting Fellow

During our HEFAT courses, journalists participate in both classroom-based learning and scenarios to simulate situations that journalists may realistically encounter in the field, designed specifically for their regional context. Some of the topics covered in trainings may include:

Emergency First Aid | Digital Security | Self Defense | Hotel Security/Personal Security| Civil Unrest/Demonstrations | Situational Awareness | Emotional Care | Kidnapping | Navigating Checkpoints | Reaction under Gunfire

Facing physical threats? Get help now.

• If you are a journalist experiencing online attacks, the IWMF will connect you to an expert for one-on-one  safety consultations. Request a consultation here.
• Does your newsroom need help preparing its reporters to stay safe? The IWMF offers customized training workshops for U.S. newsrooms (for journalists of any gender). Email us for details at programs@iwmf.org.

Physical Safety Resources

MOOC: How to report safely: Strategies for women journalists and their allies
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This MOOC, “How to report safely: Strategies for women journalists and their allies,” is organized by the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas in partnership with the IWMF and UNESCO, with financial support from the Swedish Postcode Foundation. During this four-week massive open online course, students will learn frameworks to mitigate and manage associated risks for all women (cis, trans and femmes) and allies.

Webinars

US Election Safety Summer

The Committee to Protect Journalists, the International Women’s Media Foundation, and PEN America teamed up to create a free webinar series that will help journalists prepare for covering the U.S. general election and election-related events. The series provides safety guidance on assessing risk, bolstering digital safety and online abuse defense, ensuring physical safety when covering rallies and protests, understanding the legal rights of journalists, and addressing psychological safety and mental health.

Strategies for Safely Covering Civil Unrest

This webinar, led by Jeff Belzil, the International Women’s Media Foundation’s Director of Security, and Corinne Chin, staff journalist at the Seattle Times, prepares journalists to cover civil unrest in the United States and how to best report safely with police and political extremist presences. The presenters covered the general tactics used by extremist groups, PPE and police crowd tactics. Maria Alejandra Silva Ortega from the International Women’s Media Foundation moderated the discussion.

Risk Assessment and Planning for Student Journalists

This webinar was led by journalist safety experts, highlighting strategies to help student journalists stay safe while covering a wide range of potentially risky situations by teaching them how to prepare for and react to threats against their physical safety. The discussion provided guidance specifically tailored to covering protests during a pandemic, and situations that women journalists and journalists of color may encounter in the field.

First aid in the field: Skills for journalists covering protests

U.S.-based journalists are facing unprecedented challenges to report. Amid civil unrest, a hostile political environment, and growing distrust of the media, journalists are putting their physical safety at risk to report the truth. This webinar from the IWMF, led by RPS Partnership’s Cath Mossom, covered casualty assessment, CPR and first aid including managing wounds, chest injuries and head injuries. Particular attention was paid to injuries journalists have received during recent protests, as well as administering first aid safely in a pandemic.