For the lack of legal protection and the abandonment of their institutions, journalists face pressures, restrictions and silent harassment

Nagm Ashur, a journalist from Basra Governorate south of Iraq, says that she and her colleagues face an insecure media environment that hinders their fieldwork: "We constantly live under the pressure of hard access to information, the risk of harassment and blackmail".

This has led her to avoid solitary coverage in many cases because of what could pose a threat to her safety and mental health. She explains: "It may require access to some sources that are hostile, and there is also a stereotypical view of women, which adds ongoing psychological pressure between completing the task or withdrawing from it".

She points out that the most dangerous thing that journalists face is physical harm during coverage, as a result of some public confusion between the media's orientation and the journalist's personality, as well as the risk of harassment, exploitation and blackmail for information, according to her.

Nagam sees that there is often discrimination in the treatment of female journalists and their male counterparts: they are assigned to more dangerous tasks, unlike journalists for protection or because of social restrictions that restrict women's movement in the field.

She adds that although she was not directly physically harassed, she faced numerous work-related exploitation attempts that led her to withdraw from some experiments, along with attempted robbery during filming, as well as abusive comments to the point of slander and throwing.

She says that these experiences have created her a constant sense of extreme caution, which makes her put her personal safety before the news - even if it affects coverage. According to her freelance work, she points to the negativity associated with media institutions, the absence of contracts that provide clear professional protection, as well as the discrimination in the distribution of tasks sometimes associated with geographic location.