Global Investigative Journalism Network (https://archive.gijn.org/tag/sexual-violence/)
In this chapter from GIJN’s Reporter’s Guide to Investigating War Crimes, world-renowned war photographer Ron Haviv discusses best practices for using photo and video to cover atrocities and possible war crimes.
In this installment of GIJN’s Reporter’s Guide to Investigating War Crimes, investigative reporter Christina Lamb discusses conflict-related sexual violence and the role of the press in investigating these often neglected atrocities.
Editor’s Note: The tipsheet was updated in 2023 by GIJN’s Leonardo Peralta and edited by Nikolia Apostolou. The subject of sexual violence remains a sensitive if not taboo subject in much of the world and often goes unreported.
The subject of sexual violence remains a sensitive if not taboo subject in much of the world and often goes unreported. Watchdog journalism has started digging deeper into sexual violence, but these investigations are still few relative to the estimated number of cases worldwide. GIJN has now updated its reporting guide for this hard-to-cover subject.
At a recent GIJN webinar, journalist and experts discussed best practices for investigating conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV), including tips for interviewing possible war crimes victims and corroborating incidents without re-traumatizing survivors.
Attacks on reporters and a downward trend in transparency in Pakistan in recent years have had a notable impact on the press climate, but despite this, journalists are using the resources available to them to continue investigating. Using traditional shoe-leather reporting and relying on communities to access information and even, at times, for data, this year journalists have dug into rape statistics, alleged police brutality, and human smuggling, alongside other stories.
যৌন সহিংসতা নিয়ে অনুসন্ধান এবং মানুষের ব্যক্তিগত যৌনজীবন নিয়ে চাঞ্চল্যকর রিপোর্ট তৈরি; এই দুই ব্যাপারকে খুব স্পষ্টভাবে আলাদা করেছে ফরাসী অনুসন্ধানী গণমাধ্যম মিডিয়াপার্ট। প্রায় এক দশক ধরে তারা কাজ করছে সমাজের বিভিন্ন স্তরে বিদ্যমান যৌন সহিংসতা নিয়ে। তাদের প্রেরণা ও অনুসন্ধান পদ্ধতিগুলোর কথা এখানে তুলে এনেছেন জিআইজেএন-এর ফরাসী ভাষা সম্পাদক মার্থে হুবিও।
For nearly a decade, the French investigative website Mediapart has made sexual violence a front-page issue through its exposés. GIJN’s French editor Marthe Rubió spoke to journalists Lénaïg Bredoux and Marine Turchi about the methodologies and motivations behind their investigations.