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Every year since 2003, 80 journalists have been killed, says Reporters Without Borders (RSF). Latin America continues to be the most dangerous region for people who practice this profession, with Mexico being the deadliest country.
2022 ends with a discouraging balance for the practice of journalism. The most recent report of Reporters Without Borders (RSF) shows that 1,668 journalists have been murdered worldwide since 2003, for a total of 80 professionals killed in the profession each year.
At the same time, this year ended with another worrying figure: 58 journalists were murdered in 2022, the highest number in the last four years and an increase of more than 13% compared to 2021.
According to the report, nearly 80% of media professionals were deliberately killed in connection with their work or the news they covered. Among the most dangerous issues is that of organized crime and corruption.
“The end of this year is an auspicious moment to pay tribute to them and call for full respect for the safety of journalists wherever they work and bear witness to the realities of the world,” Cristóbal Deloire, RSF secretary general, stated in the report. .
The balance of the last two decades shows that there were two peaks with the highest number of murders in 2012 and 2013, figures exacerbated, according to the entity, by the war in Syria.
Iraq and Syria concentrate the largest number of journalists killed, between the two countries they cover a total of 578 in the last two decades, which represents a third of the world total. They are followed by Afghanistan, Yemen and Palestine.
Reporters Without Borders also shows that 80% of deaths have occurred in the same 15 countries since 2003.
What is the outlook in Latin America?
Despite the fact that conflict zones play a major role in the number of journalist deaths, RSF shows that parts of the world considered to be at peace are not without danger. Proof of this is the panorama of Latin America.
In 2022 alone, Mexico registered 11 journalists killed, which means, according to the report, “close to 20% of the total information professionals killed this year.”
The Mexican situation is not new. Since 2003, 125 journalists have been killed. Figures that continue to put that country at the top of the list of the deadliest in the region.
In the same period, it is followed by Colombia with 36 and Honduras with 26. While this year the six journalists murdered in Haiti and the three in Brazil are striking.
Thus, as shown by RSF, Latin America was “the most dangerous region in the world for journalists: close to half of the murders this year (47.4%) have occurred on Latin American soil.”
The danger exacerbated by the war in Ukraine
Undoubtedly, one of the events that has worsened the safety of journalists in Russia is the war in Ukraine. The country remains the deadliest in Europe.
“Since Vladimir Putin came to power, Russia has witnessed systematic attacks on press freedom, including deadly attacks,” RSF said.
The document also points out that the war in Ukraine, unleashed on February 24, 2022, “is one of the reasons why this country has the second highest death toll in Europe.”
Since Russia began what the Kremlin has called a “special operation”, eight journalists have been killed in that territory.
The situation of women journalists is critical
As the RSF report shows, 95% of journalists killed in war zones have been men. However, this is not to say that women have faced more encouraging prospects. In the last 20 years, 81 journalists have been assassinated.
As the organization shows, many of the deaths have to do with the journalists’ investigation of issues related to women’s rights.
The report also made public an unprecedented number: 78 women journalists are currently in prison. This is an increase of almost 20% over last year.
