Two Star reporters honoured for stories on violence against women
Alyshah Hasham and Wendy Gillis recipients of 2021 Landsberg Award
Long hours. Pages of transcriptions and notes. The creative will to synthesize a story into an engaging piece of work that honours every voice included.
Although the job is internally rewarding, journalists don’t always receive recognition for their work.
But on Wednesday, the Canadian Journalism Foundation and the Canadian Women’s Foundation presented Toronto Star reporters Alyshah Hasham and Wendy Gillis with the 2021 Landsberg Award for their reporting on violence against women. The two will share the $5,000 prize.
Hasham and Gillis, who respectively cover courts and policing, were honoured for several stories, including a feature on the murder of Victoria SelbyReadman, a 28-year-old writer and bike courier from Toronto that died at the hands of a man she lived with for only three weeks.
A culmination of what Hasham and Gillis said was years of reporting, the story called into question the ability of the justice system to keep women dealing with domestic abuse safe.
“I really respect Alyshah and I think she's one of the best reporters working within the justice realm of journalism in Canada,” Gillis said. “I really appreciate her approach to storytelling, which is compassionate, clear (and) authoritative. So sharing it with her is a really big part of this honour for me.”
The judges also honoured the duo for their joint piece about the possibility of implementing women’s police stations, and Gillis’s story about Heather McWilliam’s six-year legal journey after detailing sexual harassment in the Toronto Police Service.
About 67 per cent of Canadians know a woman who has experienced physical or sexual abuse, according to the Canadian Women’s Foundation. In times like these, journalists like Hasham and Gillis are essential in breaking the stories behind the statistics.
When asked why she chose these stories to submit for the award, Hasham pointed to the bigger picture they painted.
“Both of them are about how do we do things better, ultimately, or how can we stop history from repeating itself,” she said.
“Particularly in Victoria’s case, where we sort of saw a long history of the man who killed her, in multiple places there could have been potential interventions that might have ultimately saved her life.”
Named after Canadian journalist and author Michele Landsberg, the award was created to acknowledge journalists who provide greater profile to women’s equality issues. The award was named for Landsberg to celebrate her work as an advocate and social activist.
The jury also gave honourable mentions to Globe and Mail reporters Molly Hayes and Jana Pruden.
The award will be presentedat the Canadian Journalism Foundation Awards virtual ceremony at 7 p.m. on June 9.