Participants took turns in share their experiences about the risks they encountered on the job and their expectations from the training. It was evident that all the female journalists who converged at the programme various ways, had encountered some level of challenges and risks on the job. 

Dr Abeer Saady, a Physical Safety Trainer and a former War Reporter, speaking at the first day of the training, said female journalists faced double effects of risks based on gender-based violence. “Many of the best stories covering gender-based violence are carried out by women journalists. However, women faced safety threats that can risk reducing their number in journalism,” she noted. It was, therefore, necessary to train female journalists in safety and resilience on the field to protect them from losing themselves on the job. 

Dr Saady said it was always important to assess the level of risk involved in a task (a story) to fully prepare for the task. She said the risks or threats connected to a story could be in the physical (mob attacks, health complications), digital (online stalking, cyber bullying) and psychosocial forms (bias due to gender, religion, or culture). 

Dr Saady encouraged female journalists to avoid being so emotionally attached to a task to be able to draw a line when need be. She advised that to stay safe as journalists, it was important to practice digital hygiene by adopting some cybersecurity best practices. Some cybersecurity best practices include avoid posting family pictures on social media, deleting unnecessary pictures on mobile phones, having an external hard drive to keep important documents on and others. 

Dr Saady mentioned that it was always important to share location with colleagues or close relations as a precautionary step when danger arrives. Ms Ama Kodjo, the Programmes Director at DW Akademie, Ghana, stated that an assessment conducted by the Akademie in 2024 revealed that, attacks on female journalists in Ghana were on the increase. 

Due to the findings, the Akademie organised the training to equip female journalists, especially those in conflict-prone areas, with the necessary knowledge in safety and resilience in the field.