We established the IWMF Emergency Fund in 2013 for journalists in crisis to provide women journalists with a lifeline of support in times of distress or threat. Now more than ever, journalists around the world face real dangers as a result of their reporting. The Emergency Fund is sustained with the support of individual donors to address the growing need to provide direct assistance to women journalists who are suffering.

The IWMF Emergency Fund provides women journalists with:

• Small grants for psychological and medical care for incidents directly related to threats and crises caused by one’s work as a journalist;
• Three months of temporary relocation assistance in the event of crisis or threat;
• Legal aid to counter threats of imprisonment or censorship;
• Non-financial assistance in the form of information about additional access to resources.

To be eligible for the IWMF Emergency Fund, candidates must meet the following criteria:

• Be a staff or freelance reporter, working in any medium, whose primary profession is journalism;
• Have worked full-time as a journalist within six months of applying for assistance;
• Apply for assistance with a crisis situation directly connected to work as a journalist.
• The IWMF believes that gender does not conform to one notion. We are inclusive of all journalists who identify as women and non-binary people.

To request assistance from the IWMF Emergency Fund, you must complete this preliminary questionnaire. An IWMF staff member will respond to your request in a timely manner at which point you may be required to provide additional information. Please understand that it will take time to process your request and that we prioritize the most urgent requests. Requests that do not meet the criteria above will not be considered.

If you are a journalist from Afghanistan or Myanmar contacting us regarding relocation or basic support: Please note – due to the current limitations of the IWMF’s resources, at this time we do not have the capacity to support the enormous number of journalists who are deserving and in need, and we regret that we will be unable to process your request.

If you are experiencing any accessibility issues with the application process, please contact info@iwmf.org.