šļø Assignment Debrief: Sexual Violence and Anti-Government Protests in Colombia
Sophie dissects her recent BBC assignment, how she landed the story, reliving her sources' trauma and the right-wing backlash she faced on and offline.
Hello folks, happy Friday! Weāre going to change it up this week with another assignment debrief. I recently reported on an incredibly difficult story for the BBC, both in terms of topic and personal safety.Ā
Just as I did back in February, I hope my experience will help early-career journalists and freelancers around the world to tell deeply sensitive stories and assess the risks involved.
Talking of freelancing, weāre thrilled to once again plug our friends at Case By Case, who literally provide weekly freelance pitches for everyone to steal. Yesterday they rounded up all of last monthās pitches, including:
The tattoo removal business is boomingābut not because people regret tattoos
Why people are threatening to quit if recalled to the office
Danielās so excited by what Alex and Kate are doing that heās thrown in ideas for entire newsletters for people to steal.
Similar to Inside The Newsroom where we report onā¦ what's going on inside (and outside) the newsroom, what's it like following the money as an investigative journalist? Or producing documentaries for the likes of Netflix and Amazon? There really isnāt an area of journalism that doesnāt have a keen and enthusiastic audience for this kind of content.
As youāll discover in todayās debrief, Iām always keen on learning how other freelance and investigative journalists find and track down sources, as well as a host of other relevant skills. So if anyone out there wants to start something, let us know and weāll do our best to help you get up and running.
If not, leave some more suggestions in the comments and hopefully someone will find something to pursue!
Moving to Colombia
Let me start by explaining how I ended up in Colombia in the first place. In 2015, my bleary-eyed, 19-year-old self arrived in the capital, BogotĆ”, to start a six-month newspaper internship for the āyear abroadā portion of my Spanish and Portuguese degree. I decided to return two years later once I graduated to try my luck at the āunconventionalā way into international journalism ā moving to another country and learning as you go.
Iāve now been in MedellĆn, Colombiaās second-largest city, for three-and-a-half years. It took a while to find the courage to freelance full-time, but almost a year since I quit my job at a local media incubator, I finally landed an article with the BBC. Iāll take you through the main steps and hurdles I jumped through to do so.
Colombia's Current Situation
Nationwide protests against President IvĆ”n Duqueās right-wing government have been taking place for more than two months, sparked by deeply unpopular tax reform proposals that have now been withdrawn. According to one poll, Duque is the most unpopular Colombian president on record.
Police and security forces have met anti-government protesters with violent repression. As well as dozens of deaths and thousands of injuries, more than 100 cases of gender-based violence and 28 cases of sexual violence by security forces against women protesters have been recorded.
I spoke to some of those women who claim theyāve been victims of this violence, the NGOs and rights groups monitoring it, and the government bodies who oversee the security forces' conduct.
Finding a Gap in the Market
When the protests started, most major news outlets opted to publish coverage from foreign correspondents or stringers in BogotĆ”, and few editors were interested in the smaller protests in MedellĆn. As a freelancer, every single hour of my day is valuable, so after one failed attempt, I stopped pitching the same stories as everyone else.
But before long, my social media was filled with shocking videos, increasing police brutality and calls to share what was happening with the international community. I felt a responsibility to do something.
Still cautious about avoiding competing with an already saturated market, I knew Iād need to focus on other developments that weren't being reported if I was going to land a story. So, I channeled my focus into the theme I felt most passionate about.
With some pre-reporting under my belt, I pitched the story ā āWomenās Bodies a āTrophyā for Colombian Armed Forces During Anti-Govt Protestsā ā to four different outlets and received a mixture of rejections and no-replies. But then the BBC eventually gave me the green light.
Reporting on Sexual Violence
As I began to discuss the piece in more depth with the BBCās Latin America and Caribbean editor, Vanessa Buschschluter, it dawned on me what I had got myself into. I'd significantly underestimated how difficult this piece was going to be to actually report.
At such a tense and politicized moment in Colombiaās history, women who claim to have been victims of sexual violence were understandably terrified of speaking out. The risk of threats and repercussions, combined with the countryās criminal justice systemās history of revictimizing women, meant I faced an uphill task.
The risks ruled out asking NGOs or human rights groups to connect me with potential sources, a reporting strategy I've relied on in the past. This was the first time Iād worked on a story of this magnitude, and I struggled to know which direction to turn. Time was running out, so I sent out a call for information ā a decision Iād later come to regret. More on that later.Ā
Fortunately a handful of brave women contacted me. But asking them to relive their trauma for the purposes of an article, and listening to countless stories I knew didnāt fit my brief to gather context, was the most mentally testing part of the entire process, and perhaps one of the hardest things Iāve done as a journalist.
Thankfully I was given two weeks to immerse myself in the assignment ā more than usual for news stories ā and ultimately, over-report. This gave me time to speak to plenty of victims, attend more protests and put the accusations to Colombiaās Inspector General. Getting Colombian officials on the record is extremely tough.
The Backlash
Looking back, sharing my contact information ā email, Twitter, and WhatsApp ā on the call for info I sent out was pretty reckless. My details were quickly posted to various social media sites and shared more than 300 times.Ā
My reasoning seemed solid at the time. In Colombia, and Latin America in general, WhatsApp is an essential part of everyday life. More than 90 percent of Colombian internet users aged 16-64 use it every day to communicate with friends, family, colleagues and customers if they run a business. I use it to communicate with government sources, industry experts and NGOs. If I wanted an easy way for people to contact me, it had to be on WhatsApp.Ā
I immediately regretted my decision once I received the first threatening phone call. A woman called me a āfucking journalistā and a āfucking bitchā, among other things. A few days earlier, I received an intimidating message from another woman telling me sheād contacted the BBC to ask if I was on their staff. A week of Covid self-isolation probably didnāt help, but even after blocking the numbers, my thoughts spiralled and wild anxiety set in, which remained for the duration of the assignment.
Colombia is among the western hemisphereās most dangerous countries for journalists, where reporters regularly experience abuse both on and offline. According to Colombiaās Foundation for Press Freedom, 109 violations have occurred so far this year.
In 2018, 70 percent of women journalists experienced threats, harassment or attacks while reporting, according to the International Womenās Media Foundation. All too often, I hear that itās just āpart of the jobā.Ā
While local reporters bear the brunt of these threats, the government has cracked down on foreign reporters in recent years by implementing stricter requirements for journalism visas.
This was the first time Iāve ever felt threatened doing my job in this country. After my piece was published, I watched the insults continue on social media, despite my best efforts not to read the comments. Which poses as a perfect segue to the lessons I've learned over the past month: Donāt. Read. The. Comments.
Going Forward...
If youāve made it this far, thank you! Amid the exhaustion of finishing this complex assignment, I was left mulling what Iād do differently if I had the chance, and Iād like to share the most important takeaways with you:
Buy a second phone: In hindsight I should have used a second phone to report this story. I didnāt, so all the threats and abuse followed me wherever I went.
Use a more secure messaging service: The adrenaline of reporting clouded my judgement, so itās important to make as many decisions as possible ahead of time. In future, Iāll establish initial contact with sources using Whatsapp for ease, and then ask to move to a more secure messaging service, such as Signal, to protect both my sourcesā and myself.
Tailor plan to word count: Another challenge with reporting this story was synthesizing such a complex topic into just 800 words. Instead of worrying about not having enough, it would have been far easier to spend more time carefully choosing the right material at the planning stage.
Support for sources: One thing I wished I did after my first phone calls with victims was to suggest a helpline or an NGO that could provide mental health support. I did eventually, but I still felt helpless after those initial interviews.
Share my experience with my editor: Perhaps this is because Iām still new to freelancing, but at the time I didnāt feel it was necessary to disclose the harassment I was receiving with my editor. I spoke to friends and family about how I was feeling, and Iām fortunate enough to have a therapist. But in hindsight, sharing this in a professional capacity would have given me another outlet. More often than not, editors have dealt with similar experiences and can help navigate the murky waters.
Thank you once again for sticking with us. We'll speak again next week.