Gambiaj.com – (ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia) — The ninth African Women in Media (AWiM) conference opened in Addis Ababa on December 4, 2025, with a resounding call for African governments to ratify the AU Convention to End Violence Against Women and Girls (AU-CEVAWG).
The two-day gathering, held from 4–5 December at the African Union Commission Conference Centre, brings together journalists, policymakers, academics, and media advocates to advance protections for women in the media across the continent.
The conference is co-hosted by the AU’s Information and Communication Directorate and the Women, Gender and Youth Directorate, underscoring growing institutional efforts to promote gender-safe media environments.
In her opening keynote, AWiM Co-founder and CEO Dr. Yemisi Akinbobola urged African governments to translate their political support for AU-CEVAWG into legally binding action. Despite the treaty’s adoption by African leaders in February 2025, she noted that progress has stalled.
“Only seven countries have signed, and zero have ratified it,” she said, warning that the convention cannot come into force until at least 15 ratifications are secured. “The convention currently exists politically and symbolically, but not as an enforceable obligation.”
So far, Angola, Burundi, Djibouti, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, The Gambia, and Ghana have signed the treaty.
Akinbobola stressed that AU-CEVAWG directly tackles the forms of violence women in the media face—from workplace harassment and harmful labor practices to femicide, discriminatory judicial procedures, and online abuse.
She linked the treaty to the Kigali Declaration, co-designed by more than 250 stakeholders at AWiM23 in Rwanda, which outlines practical standards for gender-safe newsrooms and narratives.
“The Convention gives us continental authority, and the Kigali Declaration gives us practical steps. Why wouldn’t we put our voices behind something that protects 50% of our population?” she asked.
AU Director of Information and Communication, Ms. Leslie Richer, condemned the rising harassment of women online, describing digital platforms as “fertile ground for abuse.” She stressed that perpetrators misuse freedom of expression to harm women, and she called on governments and media actors to confront digital violence with urgency.
“Digital violence is real violence, it destroys lives,” Richer said. She urged states to enforce existing laws, prosecute abusers, and ensure that criminal justice systems protect women and girls both online and offline. She also challenged journalists to speak up rather than leave the burden to activists alone.
During the opening session, AWiM launched its AWiM2030 Vision, a new strategic plan centered on networking, advocacy, and economic empowerment.
The initiative aims to build a year-round ecosystem of communities of practice, influence policy across institutional and governmental levels, and expand mediapreneurship, women-led media ownership, and access to grants and investments.
Akinbobola emphasized that the ambitious plan requires broad collaboration from policymakers, investors, donors, media leaders, educators, and journalists. “We do not intend to do this alone,” she said.
She concluded her address by urging participants to leave AWiM25 with two key commitments: advancing AU-CEVAWG in line with the Kigali Declaration and building sustainable partnerships that make African media safer and fairer for women.
“Every woman deserves dignity and safety at work, including women in the media,” she said.
