Applications open: Specialized training for the safety of female journalists on March 28 in Niš.

Jovana Gligorijević emphasizes that the safety of female journalists is not just about protection from attacks, threats, and other risks to their physical or online safety.

“The safety of female journalists also encompasses the well-being of all of us in our workplaces through experiences that are authentically ours, feminine, in the media profession. Therefore, I suggest to my colleagues from Niš and the surrounding area to come to the ANEM workshop on the safety of female journalists from a different perspective on March 28, where we create a safe, female space for female journalists, where we share our experiences that remain within our female circle. We open up issues, but we also look at how to resolve them, how to create alliances, and how to support one another,” states Gligorijević while announcing this training.

Ana Manojlović adds that when female journalists gather, they do not only talk about work but also about everything that comes with that job – from pressures to ways of preserving themselves.

“That is why we created a workshop on the safety of female journalists, but above all, a space for sharing experiences, stories, and support. This is not just another workshop where you passively sit and listen to lectures; this is a place where we talk,” says Manojlović.

Some of the comments from participants of the first training sessions held in Belgrade and Inđija were: "I didn't even realize how much I needed this." "It's not just educational; it's healing," "An liberating experience, almost like psychotherapy."

Sofija Vukajlović, a journalist from the FoNet agency who attended the first training, assesses that workshops on the safety of female journalists are very important.

“More than 50 percent of those employed in media are women. Female media workers do not only suffer violence in the field while reporting but very often in their own newsrooms as well. When your editor says – this is not a topic for you, you are too young, or when your boundaries are pushed because ‘that’s the job’, all of this is violence,” emphasizes Vukajlović, calling on her colleagues to register for the training on March 28.

Jovana Đurđić, a journalist from Vreme, states that the workshop she attended was truly different from other lectures and workshops she had been to.

“First and foremost, it was characterized by being open, interactive, sincere, and full of shared experiences. I gained a real sense that we are here for each other, as journalists and media workers, but through the conversation, I also learned about many practical things and received advice that will be significant for my future work. I think we all left the workshop with more confidence and a feeling that we are not alone in the challenges this job brings. I would really like as many women in our profession as possible to participate in such workshops, as they will benefit both professionally and on a personal level,” Đurđić expresses.

The training on March 28 will be the fifth of eleven that will be held until the end of 2026, organized by ANEM, as part of the project "System for the Prevention of Violence and Protection of Journalists," which, among other donors, is supported by the European Union.

Female journalists, editors, photographers, camerawomen, and freelancers working in the media in Niš and the surrounding areas can register for the training by emailing anem@anem.org.rs until Friday, March 27, 2026.

Provisions have been made to cover travel costs for colleagues who do not live in Niš.

By the end of 2026, another training session is planned in Belgrade and five in other cities across Serbia for female journalists in local media, with dates to be announced later.

In recent years, ANEM has successfully organized general safety training for journalists in more than 20 cities across Serbia. Aware of the rising trend of attacks on female journalists and the multifaceted threats to their safety, in collaboration with members of the group Journalists Against Violence Towards Women, we have designed training specifically tailored for female journalists and other media workers.