A free press is essential for the protection of human rights.
It is a means of ensuring an open flow of ideas and holding power to account. Globally, the space for a free press is contracting rapidly.
The context in which the media operates is forecast to worsen. Insecurity and populism spread, governments copy restrictive and abusive practices from others, and new threats such as online harassment emerge. The COVID-19 pandemic has only accelerated this downward spiral. Attacks on media freedom, including the use of emergency regulations to target those who inform the public, have proliferated around the world.
Journalists are being threatened, prosecuted and jailed like never before.
We could not do our work without the generous support of our donors and supporters.
At Media Defence, we provide legal support to hundreds of journalists every year.
With high quality legal representation, journalists can continue their critical work to keep us informed and hold power to account. If you want to play a part in ensuring that journalists around the world can report freely, please donate today.
£300 helps us provide pro bono legal advice.
£1,500 is often enough to keep a journalist out of prison.
£25,000 can fund a defence centre to provide legal defence for media across an entire country for one year.
Together, we can defend independent media across the world.
Share your legal expertise
We benefit from the donated services of some of the world’s leading lawyers and law firms, who provide their time and expertise free of charge to help us defend journalists globally. We are extremely grateful to our pro bono partners, whose contribution increases the impact of our work.
We receive pro bono support in the form of:
- legal research on specific human rights issues and comparative law input;
- legal advice to local lawyers and organisations that defend journalists;
- drafting submissions in strategic cases;
- delivering training on media law and litigating at regional forums; and
- creating resources for lawyers defending the media.
Would you like to support our work pro bono?
Join Us
Become a Volunteer
Thank you so much for considering volunteering with us. Our legal team takes on a number of legal volunteers throughout the year who provide us with much-needed support and increase our capacity significantly. We also occasionally have other volunteer roles in communications, monitoring and evaluation, and finance.
Vacancies & Opportunities
Thank you for your interest in working with us. When we have job vacancies and consultancy opportunities they will be posted here. If there are no paid opportunities at the moment, you may be able to volunteer with us.
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