According to a 2023 poll conducted by the University of Ghana’s School of Communications, over 40% of journalists had experienced attacks while performing their jobs.
Additionally, according to the poll, 70% of practitioners knew coworkers who had been attacked.
Senior Lecturer at the Communications School Dr. Abena Animwaa Yeboah-Banin stated on February 13 that this has made journalists fearful of their jobs in an interview with JoyNews.
“At least 38% of the sampled individuals reported having been attacked while doing their jobs. Even more, almost 70% of the people surveyed stated they knew of coworkers who had been attacked in their field of work.”
“Thus, a considerable proportion overall conveyed sentiments of unease, believing they were in danger while carrying out their duties as journalists within the nation,” the speaker stated.
According to Dr. Yeboah-Banin, this is concerning because there has been no action taken to stop the situation despite the rate of attacks on journalists continuing to double.
“Report after report has indicated that the rate of attacks on journalists for carrying out their duties is rising, but the measures you would see to send a message to those who commit these crimes, saying this will not be tolerated, do not seem to be as swift or even exist in quite a few cases,” the woman lamented.”
Her remarks come after politicians and their allies have attacked journalists recently.
While covering the NPP’s parliamentary primaries, Mohammed Aminu Alabira, the Northern regional correspondent for Citi FM, allegedly came under attack from Farouk Aliu Mahama, the Member of Parliament for the Yendi Constituency.
Additionally, those allegedly supporting Mavis Hawa Koomson, the MP for the Awutu Senya East Constituency, are accused of assaulting a journalist in the Central area.
The Ghana Journalists Association then demanded that the lawmakers be excluded from the media.
