TIFA-Populix Foundation Research
"Journalists Potentially Experience Violence in Simultaneous Regional Elections"
Jakarta, May 31, 2024 - Threats to the safety of journalists have the potential to occur in the process of implementing simultaneous regional elections this year. This potential threat to journalists' safety refers to the results of research on violence experienced by journalists during the last election process.
In the Journalist Safety Index research report, it was found that during the 2024 election process, threats against journalists are likely to increase. A total of 84% of journalists reported an increase in pressure/threats against journalists during the past election process and considered it to be in the "threatening" stage. Of these, 51% even categorized it as "very threatening."
With this situation, journalists tend to be more cautious in making journalistic products in the run-up to elections (85%). This cautious attitude occurs in all professional lines and levels of journalists, from managers, editors to field journalists. However, caution tends to be higher at the editor level.
The Executive Director of the TIFA Foundation, Oslan Purba, stated that the journalists' assessment was based on the experiences they had during the coverage of the 2024 elections. Through a survey in the preparation of the 2023 Journalist Safety Index, 28% of media crews reported experiencing violence related to election coverage.
Forms of violence during election coverage include; prohibition of coverage (44%), prohibition of reporting (41%), terror and intimidation (38%), deletion of coverage results (35%), threats (23%), then the rest in the form of digital attacks, destruction / deprivation of equipment, to physical violence.
"So, it is very understandable if fellow journalists are concerned about their safety during the coverage of political activities such as elections and local elections. Therefore, the TIFA Foundation's Safe Journalism Program urges Pilkada organizers and other stakeholders to pay attention to this. And if possible, anticipate this for this year's simultaneous elections which include 508 elections," Oslan said in a press release on Friday (31/05/2024).
Populix Research Manager Nazmi Haddyat Tamara said, in a survey of journalists, it was found that the parties most mentioned as giving threats in the last election were individuals/groups of personal motives (36%) and the candidate's Success Team (33%). In addition, threats came from political parties (19%), buzzers (19%), their own media companies (13%), government parties (12%) and state institutions (12%).
This year, there are 508 elections that will be held simultaneously in Indonesia, involving 37 provinces (Governor Elections), 415 regencies (Regent Elections), and 93 cities (Mayor Elections).
In the Journalist Safety Index 2023 research report, it was found that the safety of Indonesian journalists is still not fully guaranteed. The Journalist Safety Index 2023 scores 59.8 out of 100 or falls into the category of "Somewhat Protected". This score is partly contributed by the number of violence experienced by journalists both collected through a survey of 536 journalists and from cases handled by the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) throughout 2023.
The Journalist Safety Index measurement was conducted by the Tifa Foundation as part of the Safe Journalism Consortium with PPMN and HRWG in collaboration with research company Populix and supported by the Dutch Embassy.
The Journalist Safety Index 2023 is measured through a survey method to journalists and combined with actual data on cases of violence against journalists handled by the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI). This overview of the safety conditions of journalists in carrying out their profession is compiled based on three main pillars, including the individual journalist, the media stakeholder pillar, and the state and regulatory pillar.
Data collection through surveys for the Journalist Safety Index was carried out on January 22 - February 13, 2024 with the method of self-filling by journalists by sending questionnaires to journalists registered in a number of organizations as well as visiting journalists while in the field and interviewing a number of journalists to verify crucial information. The 536 journalists summarized in this survey are spread throughout Indonesia and represent journalists from various types of media.
The full report on the state of journalist safety in Indonesia throughout 2023 can be accessed via the following link.
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About Safe Journalism
Safe Journalism, a program initiated by three non-profit organizations: Tifa Foundation, Human Rights Watch Group (HRWG), and the Nusantara Media Development Association (PPMN). The goal of the program is to promote the safety of journalists in Indonesia, aiming to create a safe and enabling ecosystem for journalists to spread press freedom and ensure independent media. The consortium of these three organizations sees a major problem that makes the press and journalists increasingly constrained, namely the absence of a systematic mechanism for protecting the work of journalists and citizen journalists.
About Populix
Populix is a research company that connects businesses, institutions and individuals with quality, diverse and targeted respondents across Indonesia. From complex research such as brand research and market overviews, to short surveys, Populix leverages the power of technology to support comprehensive research and data collection as a reference for clients and partners to make more informed and data-driven decisions and planning.
For more information, please contact:
| Patricia Saputra PR & Branding Manager 0812 9106 8322 patricia.s@populix.co | Arie Mega Project Officer Safe Journalism 081288118584 ariemega@tifafoundation.id |