Reporters Without Borders' annual measurement of the number of jailed and killed journalists shows that 73 female journalists are currently imprisoned worldwide.
And that is a substantial increase in five years.
- As a share of the total number of imprisoned journalists, it is double what it was five years ago, says Erik Halkjaer, chairman of Reporters without Borders in Sweden, to SVT Kulturnyheterna.
Over 500 imprisoned
Female journalists make up 13 percent of all jailed journalists according to the report, five years ago that figure was 7 percent.
Today, roughly 550 journalists are imprisoned worldwide, which means that the number of imprisoned female journalists has increased by four times in the last five years, says Erik Halkjaer.
In countries such as China, Vietnam, Belarus, Iran and Afghanistan, the situation for female journalists is the worst.
- In a year and a half, 9 out of 10 active female journalists have been forced to stop working.
They have basically deleted all female journalists in Afghanistan, says Erik Halkjaer.
Historical development
The reason for the increase in imprisoned female journalists is partly due to the fact that it has become more common for female journalists to review and criticize the regime in countries that have a strict freedom of the press.
But also that it has become more common for journalists to be jailed in general, the report states.
And according to Reporters Without Borders, the development will not slow down in the future.
- There have never been so many jailed journalists in the world as long as we have been measuring.
It is quite a long time, and if we look back, I would say that there have never been so many imprisoned journalists at all, says Erik Halkjaer and adds:
- It has become an increasingly powerful tool for authoritarian leaders around the world to imprison journalists to silence them.