Sexual violence is a feature of conflict and war. Its impact is felt by individuals, but also by families and communities, and its destructive effects persist for generations. Reporting criminal acts of any sort in an active conflict is difficult enough; documenting and reporting sexual violence during a conflict poses even more challenges.
In this GIJN webinar, a senior reporter, a human rights advocate, and a safety and trauma specialist will discuss how sexual violence in conflict can be understood, the most common misconceptions about this type of violence, and where journalists fit in. The speakers will offer tips and resources on how to investigate effectively, safely engage with survivors, and navigate the call for justice.
Gavin Rees is senior advisor for training and innovation at the Dart Center for Journalism & Trauma, and former director of Dart Centre Europe. Responsible for implementing the Centre’s work across Europe, Rees ran workshops and discussion groups on trauma awareness, resilience, and interviewing skills for journalists and journalism students in countries worldwide.
Alix Vuillemin is a senior advocacy adviser and program manager at Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice. She has over 10 years experience in monitoring work of the International Criminal Court for the Coalition for the International Criminal Court, Human Rights Watch, and Open Society Justice Initiative. Vuillemin has led NGO advocacy campaigns on gender justice and the ICC.
Lauren Wolfe is an award-winning journalist and photographer. She is a contributing writer for Washington Monthly, publisher of Chills, and an adjunct professor at NYU’s graduate school of journalism. She also created and directed WMC WomenUnderSiegeProject.org, a journalism initiative on sexualized violence in conflict originated by Gloria Steinem at the Women’s Media Center.
The moderator is Juliana Ruhfus, an award-winning journalist, producer-director, and TV presenter, who specializes in human rights and investigative work. She is development director for the Dart Center in Europe, and was a senior reporter for Al Jazeera English’s “People & Power” series.
This is the first in a series of webinars GIJN will be hosting on Investigating War Crimes.
Watch our Twitter feed @gijn and newsletter for details on future events.
Sign up for the webinar here!
Date: Thursday 3 November 2022
Time: 9:00 AM EDT – What time is it in my city?
Note: This webinar includes French and Russian interpretation.
