100 Asian journalists, allies in ACFJ forum on gender-based challenges faced by women journalists

MANILA, Philippines -- At least 100 Asian women from various news organizations, the academe, communication and media advocacy sectors gathered morning of Aug. 8, 2025 at the PLDT-Convergent Technologies Center Building of the Ateneo de Manila University for the ‘Asian Women Journalists for Media Freedom 2025’ (AWJMF2025), the regional conference organized by the Ateneo-based Asian Center for Journalism (ACFJ).

Journalists Gretchen Ho of Cignal/TV5, Pia Ranada of Rappler, and The Netherlands-based freelancer Jofelle Tesorio -- all of the Philippines and alumnae of the Ateneo -- were headline speakers of the conference meant to bring to the fore and discuss issues that threaten women journalists, burden their storytelling, and put their well-being and professional integrity at risk.

"These are not easy topics. But the problems encompass and affect many women professionals. By openly talking about it, we are making the first step in what could possibly be a long journey towards preventing the harassment that women journalists face everyday," said ACFJ Director Arlene Burgos. 

The conference was also an occasion for the findings of a study on the condition of newswomen in the Philippines made by Luz Rimban, former ACFJ executive director and Dr Christine Cox, chair of the Department of Communication, to be shared in possibly the largest forum since the study was concluded in 2024.

Lawyer Emerlynne Gil of the Legal Service for Independent Media (LSIM) of the Thomson Reuters Foundation shared options available for women journalists and newsrooms in efforts to ward off attacks, while the leaders of Commission on Human Rights and the Philippine Commission on Women shared efforts in their agencies' attempts to help women journalists, along with initiatives and cooperation with ACFJ and other stakeholders.

The Manila conference is the second such regional conference under the ACFJ's Media Freedom project that started in 2023 through the support of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and the International Media Support, among others. The maiden regional conference was held in Semarang, Indonesia in 2023. It led to the formation of the consortium Movement for the Safety and Welfare of Women Journalists or We-Move in the Philippines.

The AWJMF2025 gathered Philippine and other Asian journalists in Metro Manila, Philippines from August 6 to 9, 2025 for the morning conference on August 7, and a separate by-invitation, closed-door session afterwards to let journalists, many of them alumnae of the ACFJ’s Masters in Journalism program, update each other on the status of efforts to advance the safety and well-being of women journalists in their countries.

These activities are meant to advance the cause of media freedom, especially as it relates to challenges faced by women journalists whose news-gathering or reporting  are being hampered by gender-based issues that undermine truth-telling efforts.