Resilience in exile: journalists share tips around mental health and coping strategies for reporting from exile

Overlapping and ongoing global press freedom crises over the past several years have forced record numbers of journalists and media workers into exile. From Pakistan to Germany, and the U.S. to Kenya, the scale of need has climbed so high that CPJ recorded a 227 percent increase in the amount of exile support between 2020 and 2023, as journalists in entrenched repressive regimes, as well as those who face fresh threats, have fled for their lives. But after the initial crisis period, new safety challenges for journalists emerge, notably mental health concerns, as journalists grapple with settling into their new lives in exile often while trying to continue reporting on their home country.

In this panel, we’ll highlight CPJ’s innovative approach to supporting the mental health of exiled journalists through a series of workshops that have brought disparate colleagues back together in person, and will hear from journalists themselves about best practices for taking care of their mental health. This panel will provide practical information as well as a sense of community building and connection, and will examine examples of success and consider remaining gaps and challenges, including the pressing need for emergency visas and safe refuge.

Organised in association with Committee to Protect Journalists.