WIMDI Advocates Protection Measures for Women in the Media

• WIMDI has called for improved digital safety in Nigeria's media industry
• That the group wants increased protection for the woman in digital spaces        
• These issues were discussed during a webinar titled “From Screens to Safety”

The Women in Media Development Initiative called for stronger digital safety frameworks and protection of women's agency within the Nigerian media.

In this context, a virtual webinar titled "From Screens to Safety: Combating Cyberbullying and Digital Abuse Against Women and Girls", was hosted under the auspices of WIMDI's organization during the global 2025 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence.

The purpose of the training program was to address the disturbing rise of online abuse towards women (especially female journalists), as well as cover digital safety skills, social media engagement etiquette, and women's leadership in a digital context.

During the event titled "Personal Safety, Content Boundaries, & Digital Discipline,” Digital Creator and Media Advocate Esther Ilesanmi discussed the range of consequences of cyberbullying: emotional distress, depression, declining self-esteem, sextortion, and retreating from online contexts.

She advised women to set online boundaries adding that anything they post online should be from a place of "intent" rather than pressure or comparison. She prompted attendees to safeguard their private life online.

Esther outlined a number of digital safety practices, including having strong privacy settings, two-factor authentication, blocking problematic accounts, and limiting unnecessary digital exposure, among others, while building positive online communities. She said this will help control access and thus minimize the reach of cyberbullies.

Media professional and women’s advocate Adaora Onyechere Sydney-Jack, in her presentation on “Digital Abuse, Psychological Impact & Strengthening Women’s Digital Agency,” identified common forms of online violence to include impersonation, image-based abuse, psychological attacks, and organized harassment from “troll farms.”

She emphasized the role of culture and media in influencing the behavior of the general public and highlighted the psychological effects of online abuse, including rising anxiety, withdrawal, and fear of visibility.

Sydney-Jack called for more transparency and accountability and stronger responses to digital harassment. She further emphasized that anonymous harassment networks need to be exposed and warned that silence enables offenders.

She further encouraged the need for collaborative efforts, including male allyship, and the need to speak out against abuse. She also called for survivor-centred reporting and a need for updated, enforceable, and easily understood cyber protection laws.