The specific challenges and safety of women journalists during the full‑scale war were the focus of a UNESCO event in Kyiv marking World Press Freedom Day. Organized on April 30 in cooperation with the NGO Women in Media, the event underscored the urgent need to protect and support Ukrainian women in journalism. The discussion featured the participation of Maksym Onopriienko, member of the National Council.
The relevance of the chosen theme stems from the fact that women make up 80% of the media profession in Ukraine. They work under conditions of chronic exhaustion, facing online attacks, balancing professional responsibility with economic instability and unpaid caregiving duties. Yet despite these challenges, they continue reporting from the front lines, documenting war crimes, and providing Ukrainian society and the international community with reliable information. The discussion on how to strengthen resilience, ensure safety, and create fair working conditions was held at a high representative level, bringing together government officials, diplomats, members of parliament, law enforcement representatives, the media regulator, and leading civil society organizations for a constructive dialogue.
Opening the event, Chiara Dezzi Bardeschi, Head of the UNESCO Antenna in Ukraine, recalled that despite all the hardships and challenges brought by the war, UNESCO has marked World Press Freedom Day in Ukraine for the third consecutive year, stressing that “this further reinforces the understanding of how vital freedom of expression is.” She assured that UNESCO, together with other international partners, will continue to support Ukraine.
Participants discussed the specific threats faced by women journalists during the war – ranging from physical danger in combat zones to gender‑based risks such as online harassment, sexualized threats, and discrediting campaigns.
According to Liza Kuzmenko, head of the NGO Women in Media, the primary demand of women journalists today is not individual assistance, but systemic changes at the level of editorial policies and the state to ensure safe and fair working conditions.
Maksym Onopriienko emphasized that an important task today is to shift the issue of journalists’ safety from the sphere of individual responsibility to the sphere of systemic state policy. He outlined in detail the role of the media regulator in this process, noting that the National Council not only monitors compliance with legislative prohibitions on sexism, discrimination, and incitement to hatred in the media, but also works proactively.
“In particular, together with the NGO Women in Media, we are conducting an analysis of the gender profile of editorial offices. This analytics highlights issues of pay and position inequality. In cooperation with international partners – UNESCO, OSCE – and security agencies, we organize practical trainings on physical and digital safety, as well as psychological support.”
In the opinion of a member of the media regulator, Ukraine’s experience should demonstrate to the world that journalists’ safety is an inseparable part of national security, and strong media means people who can work without fear.
World Press Freedom Day, observed annually on 3 May, was proclaimed by the United Nations in 1993 to promote press freedom and freedom of expression worldwide. The date commemorates the 1991 Windhoek Declaration, which called for the establishment of an independent, pluralistic, and free press. UNESCO leads the global observance by organizing events around the world and awarding the annual UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize.
