Centre for Journalism & Trauma Asia Pacific

13/07/2026

In the second from the series of outputs developed as part of our UNESCO funded fellowship on technology facilitated gender based violence and hate speech, two fellows from Cambodia Mengheng Seng and Vantha Phoung discuss digital safety and personal security for media professionals in this podcast.

ការពារស្នាមដានឌីជីថលរបស់អ្នក

ការការពារសុវត្ថិភាពឌីជីថលគឺមានសារៈសំខាន់ជាងពេលណាៗទាំងអស់។ រាល់ពេលដែលយើងបង្កើត បង្ហោះ ឬចែករំលែកនៅលើបណ្តាញសង្គម យើងតែងតែបន្សល់ទុកនូវស្នាមដានអត្តសញ្ញាណរបស់យើង។ ទង្វើខ្វះការប្រុងប្រយ័ត្នអាចធ្វើឲ្យបែកធ្លាយព័ត៌មានផ្ទាល់ខ្លួន ប៉ះពាល់ដល់កេរ្តិ៍ឈ្មោះ ឬសូម្បីតែបង្កឱ្យមានការគំរាមកំហែងតាមប្រព័ន្ធអ៊ីនធឺណិត។

សូមទស្សនា vodcast ពីនេះពីនោះ ជាមួយ ម៉េងហេង

They focus on trauma informed practice rather than technical interventions, advising journalists and activists to be cautious about sharing personal content like photos that could be weaponised against them.
They highlight the practical risk of digital footprints, explaining how private moments like family gatherings or social outings can be used by detractors to damage reputations or incite harassment.
To mitigate these threats, they suggest auditing past social media posts, remaining calm during online attacks, and reporting abuse directly to platform headquarters or authorities.
Their key takeaway is to prepare for digital challenges without withdrawing from cyberspace.
Informed by the content of fellowship they position the digital flak jacket concept as an important work resource.

✔️ Physical vs. Digital Protection: Vantha observes that while journalists are very careful with their physical safety with gear like flak jackets, they are often careless with their digital presence.
✔️ Digital Vulnerability: He notes that many people, including journalists and activists, fail to "protect" their social media accounts, often posting information like real-time locations or private photos that can be used as "weapons" against them later.
✔️Proactive Safety: The podcast encourages listeners to adopt a preventive mindset recommending that individuals should review their online history and be cautious about what they post to create a form of digital defence similar to the physical protection they use in the field.

Centre for Journalism & Trauma Asia Pacific UNESCO Bangkok Vero Amantha Perera Cait McMahon Kimina Lyall

26/06/2026

Please consider donating today

Every story has a cost. Help journalists bear it.

https://www.givenow.com.au/cjt-safety-for-journalists

Across the Asia Pacific, journalists report from the frontlines of disasters, conflict, and human tragedy often without the tools to process what they witness. Research shows that repeated trauma exposure affects journalists' mental health, decision-making, and ability to do their jobs. Yet in many parts of our region, support is almost non-existent.

Since 2004, the Centre for Journalism and Trauma Asia Pacific (CJT-formally Dart Centre Asia Pacific) has been changing that. However, we no longer have the core funding we used to have. We urgently need financial support to help us rebuild capacity, restore critical services, and ensure journalists aren’t left to carry trauma alone. The demand for our support and practical resources is growing across the region from the Pacific Islands to Southeast Asia and remote Australia - but we cannot meet the demand.

When we have responded the impact is real. A newsroom editor in the Solomon Islands told us that after joining one of our programmes, staff turnover dropped, reporter performance improved, and his team found "renewed passion for the job." Your donation funds our ability to provide programmes that reach journalists who would otherwise have no access to support, including journalists in exile from Myanmar - a program just completed in May, 2026 through a UNESCO grant.

CJT is a Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR), so your donation is tax-deductible in Australia.

We are grateful for your generosity and your belief that a free, healthy, and resilient press matters. When you support CJT, you are not just supporting journalists but you are supporting the communities, stories, and accountability that depend on them.
https://www.givenow.com.au/cjt-safety-for-journalists

24/06/2026

Every story has a cost. Help journalists bear it.

https://www.givenow.com.au/cjt-safety-for-journalists

Across the Asia Pacific, journalists report from the frontlines of disasters, conflict, and human tragedy often without the tools to process what they witness. Research shows that repeated trauma exposure affects journalists' mental health, decision-making, and ability to do their jobs. Yet in many parts of our region, support is almost non-existent.

Since 2004, the Centre for Journalism and Trauma Asia Pacific (CJT-formally Dart Centre Asia Pacific) has been changing that. However, we no longer have the core funding we used to have. We urgently need financial support to help us rebuild capacity, restore critical services, and ensure journalists aren’t left to carry trauma alone. The demand for our support and practical resources is growing across the region from the Pacific Islands to Southeast Asia and remote Australia - but we cannot meet the demand.

When we have responded the impact is real. A newsroom editor in the Solomon Islands told us that after joining one of our programmes, staff turnover dropped, reporter performance improved, and his team found "renewed passion for the job." Your donation funds our ability to provide programmes that reach journalists who would otherwise have no access to support, including journalists in exile from Myanmar - a program just completed in May, 2026 through a UNESCO grant.

CJT is a Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR), so your donation is tax-deductible in Australia.

We are grateful for your generosity and your belief that a free, healthy, and resilient press matters. When you support CJT, you are not just supporting journalists but you are supporting the communities, stories, and accountability that depend on them.
https://www.givenow.com.au/cjt-safety-for-journalists

18/06/2026

វាគ្មិនបានជំរុញឱ្យអ្នកដែលធ្វើការងារងាយប្រឈមហានិភ័យ ដូចជា អ្នកកាសែត អ្នកធ្វើការសង្គម និងសកម្មជន ត្រួតពិនិត្យប្រព័ន្ធផ្សព្វផ្សាយសង្គមរបស់ពួកគេ ហើយត្រូវលុបរូបភាពផ្ទាល់ខ្លួន ឬទិន្នន័យឯកជនណាមួយ ដែលអាចប្រើអាវុធ ប្រឆាំងនឹងខ្លួនយើង។ បើក្នុងករណីដែលពួកគេបានរងការវាយប្រហារ សូមកុំមានការព្រួយបារម្ភ ឬក៏ស្លន់ស្លោ ត្រូវទាក់ទងទៅកាន់ទីស្នាក់ការកណ្ដាលនៃក្រុមហ៊ុនទំនាក់ទំនងសង្គមទាំងនោះដើម្បីទាមទារឱ្យលុបរាល់ព័ត៌មានទាំងនោះ។

A key goal in Centre for Journalism & Trauma Asia Pacific engagements with media professionals is to provide access to CJT expertise to wider journalism communities, especially those who use national and local languages.
Vantha Phoung, who participated in our recent program on tackling and , has done this by presenting the framework in . He breaks down the process and explains how it can be applied practically.
The DFJ provided him awareness to assess his exposure threat. Soon after returning from the program, Vantha began to reassess some of the images available on his Facebook profile. He removed some of them that he deemed were inappropriate for an account where he shared his reporting as well. He said that given the wide use of social media, such images can be used out of context and weaponised to harm his credibility.
Cait McMahon Kimina LyallAmantha Perera UNESCO Bangkok

01/06/2026

The acronym may sound like boring technical jargon, but it is an ugly beast. It is spreading its tentacles across the Asia Pacific at an alarming rate. Given our dependence on social media for personal and professional interactions, this threat is going to keep increasing.

At the Centre for Journalism & Trauma Asia Pacific, combatting digital hate and harm is one of our key focus areas. We have a network of 15 senior journalists spread through region who function as community leads on TFGBV and hate speech. Our latest work is working with a cohort of 14 journalists from the Mekong region to build skills at community level in the region.

CJT partnership with is an essential component of taking this work wider. We have joined hands and combined our strengths to ensure that the media community in Southeast Asia gets world class expertise to combat TFGBV and hate speech.

Cait McMahon Kimina Lyall Amantha Perera

The Centre for Journalism and Trauma Asia Pacific convened Southeast Asian journalists to address online harassment and technology-facilitated gender-based violence.

28/05/2026

❌ APPLY NOW ❌ Applications close TODAY COB - Friday May 29 2026
▪️All expenses paid training and $3000 story creation grants available
Calling all Australia based content producers and journalists interested in crafting more informed and nuanced stories when reporting on children in the 0-5 years of life, and issues around those years - the developing brain, care giving and parenting, trauma exposure, social and emotional development and more - applications are open for our collaboration with The Global Center for Journalism and Trauma training and story-writing grant program.
More details here https://lnkd.in/gwWj5s54 Cait McMahon Kimina Lyall Global Center for Journalism and Trauma

27/05/2026

❌ APPLY NOW ❌ Applications close Friday May 29 2026
▪️All expenses paid training and $3000 story creation grants available
Calling all Australia based content producers and journalists interested in crafting more informed and nuanced stories when reporting on children in the 0-5 years of life, and issues around those years - the developing brain, care giving and parenting, trauma exposure, social and emotional development and more - applications are open for our collaboration with The Global Center for Journalism and Trauma training and story-writing grant program.
More details here https://lnkd.in/gwWj5s54

26/05/2026

❌ FINAL 2 Days - APPLY NOW ❌

Applications are open until May 29 - all expenses paid training and $3000 story creation grants available

Calling all Australia based content producers and journalists interested in crafting more informed and nuanced stories when reporting on children in the 0-5 years of life, and issues around those years - the developing brain, care giving and parenting, trauma exposure, social and emotional development and more - applications are open for our collaboration with The Global Center for Journalism and Trauma training and story-writing grant program. More details here https://lnkd.in/gwWj5s54

Cait McMahon Global Center for Journalism and Trauma Kimina Lyall

25/05/2026

It is a nice feeling once in awhile to see your work highlighted in the media. Centre for Journalism & Trauma Asia Pacific UNESCO Bangkok four-day in-person workshop for journalists from the Mekong Region on pushing back against Technology Facilitated Gender Based Violence ( ) and was featured in Thai media last week.
It is encouraging to see our week highlighted in vernacular media because one of our key aims is to take these skills on digital safety to communities working in those languages. In the third phase of this program we will work collaboratively with the fellows from , and to develop outputs which can act as resource hubs for their communities. 🤞
This work is part of CJT's wider hashtag campaign with to build awareness on digital skills in the region.

Cait McMahon Kimina Lyall Amantha Perera

14/05/2026

This week began with an all-time high for all of us the Centre for Journalism & Trauma Asia Pacific. We concluded a four-day in-person workshop in Bangkok for journalists from the Mekong Region on a fellowship on pushing back against Technology Facilitated Gender Based Violence ( ) and .
Thirteen journalists came together for the program and now will begin developing outputs ranging from podcasts to digital scrapbooks. These participant-developed resources will help us take this awareness further infield in to journalism communities working in native languages and living far from urban centres.
The workshop was the crucial second step in a the three-tiered approach CJT adapted for this work. In the last four months we have worked with this cohort virtually to provide foundational awareness on TFGBV and Hate Speech. In Bangkok we were able to conduct hands-on work with the group to build on that knowledge, provide experts inputs on areas like the concept and awareness of digital exposure and moral distress. A major focus of this in-person work was to contextualise exposure, impact and preventative measures in order to make them applicable at ground-level from Phnom Penh to Yangon.
As one participant told us at the end, “journalists represent the unheard and unseen, they must be protected at all costs —it gives hope to people”. When a journalist working under repressive conditions tell us that our work gives then hope, that is the best compliment we can get.
The travel circumstances endured by some of our participants give a taste of what it is like to work in areas where they come from. One had endured strict immigration measures and extended processing including answering a series of long questions at immigration. Another was turned back twice, once close to midnight by gun wielding security forces for lack of documents.
This work is vital because the first bouts between information and fake content now takes place online. Critical voices, especially those from minority groups are targeted so that they can be shut down quickly.
“To be honest, I first thought that this workshop might be not very interesting as I have some knowledge on GBV. However, it blew my mind after learning new and interesting ideas and listening other journalists’ experiences. It was fascinating,” one participant told us at the end of the program.
This work would not have possible without UNESCO funding support via the program, and which provided free workspace, logistical and communication support,
Together we stand stronger Not Alone, Not Silenced.

UNESCO Bangkok Amantha Perera Cait McMahon Kimina Lyall