CHR pushes safer newsrooms and gender-responsive reporting

QUEZON CITY — The Commission on Human Rights urged media organizations to protect journalists from gender-based abuse while strengthening reporting that respects the rights of women and LGBTQIA+ persons.

The call links newsroom safety to the public’s access to information. Journalists need protection from discrimination, harassment, and violence to do their work, even as their reporting carries a responsibility to avoid prejudice and respect the people they cover.

The CHR conducted its Gender Sensitivity Training for Media on Oct. 15, 2026, at its central office in Quezon City. Its Strategic Communication Division organized the activity.

The training examined journalists’ responsibilities as media professionals and their own rights to protection, including risks arising from gender and other overlapping aspects of identity.

Sessions covered gender-based harassment, gender-fair language, trans-sensitive reporting, and laws protecting women and LGBTQIA+ persons. Participants also shared experiences and discussed risks in newsrooms and field assignments.

Resource persons came from the CHR, academe, government, and civil society.

Strategic Communication Division Chief Marc Louis O. Siapno outlined the training and introduced the CHR Framework on Human Rights and Media Safety.

Dr. Christine Anne R. Cox, of Ateneo de Manila University’s Department of Communication and the Movement for the Safety and Welfare of Women Journalists, discussed harassment experienced by women journalists.

The movement, known as We-Move, is a consortium formed in 2023 to promote safe spaces, welfare, and security for women media practitioners.

Kim Harold T. Peji, chief gender and development specialist of the Philippine Commission on Women, presented the Gender-Fair Media Guidebook.

Gigi Stormi Garcia, acting executive director of the Society of Trans Women of the Philippines, Inc., and Doms Cordero, its vice chair for education and research, discussed trans-sensitive reporting, including transfeminicide. The organization is known as STRAP.

Lawyer Krissi Shaffina Twyla Rubin, officer-in-charge director of the CHR Human Rights Policy Centers Office, discussed legal protections for women and LGBTQIA+ persons.

In a recorded welcome message, CHR Commissioner Faydah Maniri Dumarpa called for protection mechanisms that address overlapping forms of discrimination against media workers.

Dumarpa, the commission’s focal commissioner for gender rights, urged media organizations to provide safer workplaces, accessible complaint mechanisms, and fair opportunities regardless of gender.

“No one should have to accept abuse as part of the job,” Dumarpa said.

CHR Chairperson Richard P. Palpal-latoc linked journalist safety with press freedom and public accountability in his keynote message. He serves as focal commissioner for freedom of speech, expression, and of the press.

“Protecting journalists helps protect the public’s ability to know, to participate, and to hold power accountable,” Palpal-latoc said.

Commissioner Beda A. Epres, CHR spokesperson and Strategic Communication Division head, urged participants to apply the lessons in everyday communication and reporting.

In his closing remarks, Epres encouraged journalists to challenge stereotypes, avoid victim-blaming, and respect the dignity of the people whose stories they tell.

“May we always remember that our words can either reinforce prejudice or challenge it. And that the respect and dignity we advocate for in our stories must also extend to the people who tell them,” Epres said.

The training supports the CHR Framework on Human Rights and Media Safety, which seeks stronger coordination and referral pathways, better regional access to assistance, and the integration of digital safety and gender-responsive protection.

The framework draws from nationwide dialogues in Baguio, Dumaguete, Pagadian, Legazpi, and Quezon City, using journalists’ experiences to inform its proposed measures.

The initiative follows the CHR’s Human Rights-Based Approach to Reporting Training in March 2025 and the “Women Journalists as Women Human Rights Defenders” forum, held with the United Nations Population Fund in November 2025.

The CHR said these activities aim to strengthen the media’s capacity to uphold human rights while recognizing journalists’ own rights to safety, dignity, and protection.

As the national human rights institution and Gender Ombud, the commission said protecting press freedom also means enabling journalists to work free from discrimination, harassment, and violence.