Workshop series with journalists and media practitioners based in Nigeria

In September, the Murad Code project team partnered with journalists Ismail Alfa and Ismail Auwal to hold a four-part series of interactive online sessions for media practitioners based in Nigeria.

The series featured presentations from Sherizaan Minwalla, a human rights lawyer who has published widely on survivors’ rights and ethical reporting, including in relation to the Yazidi genocide, and Hassan Billity, a prominent Liberian journalist and founder of the Global Justice and Research Project.

The sessions covered the following topics:

• The Murad Code’s minimum standards and their relevance for media practitioners working in Nigeria

• Practical experiences and examples of responsible reporting, analysing media coverage of Boko Haram and ISIS, including interviews with survivors of sexual violence

• Survivors’ accounts of positive and harmful interactions with media practitioners

• The presumption of innocence as a legal principle, and the mantra “believe women” as a political and social response to the fact that victims of sexual violence are often disbelieved, dismissed or treated as liars

This graphic illustration captures some of the key themes and takeaways that emerged from the discussions. 
Illustration by Kathryn Gichini.