Independent.ie journalists secure Simon Cumbers funding to examine developmental issues in Africa

Journalists Catherine Devine and Jason Kennedy were selected today to study their chosen projects.

Catherine Devine will travel to Ethiopia to study domestic violence and gender inequality in the city of Addis Ababa.

Catherine intends to interview victims of domestic abuse and examine what rehabilitative support is available for women who suffered from abuse.

She will also explore what is being done to progress women's rights and equality in Ethiopia by examining access to education and free legal aid.

Jason Kennedy will travel to Mozambique to find out what life is like for LGBT people living there after homosexuality was decriminalised in 2015, only weeks after Ireland’s historic Marriage Equality referendum.

He will speak with members of the country’s only gay and lesbian activist group Lambda to see if they are looking to Ireland as a roadmap for further social change.

An extensive opinion poll of all African countries recently rated Mozambique as the third most tolerant country with regards to homosexuality, but it is neighboured by countries such as Swaziland and Malawi, which have extremely harsh anti-LGBT laws. Jason plans to find out how Mozambique has escaped similar policies.

Jason hopes to show that Mozambique is a more socially progressive country than many people might have believed.

The Simon Cumbers Media Fund aims to assist and promote more and better quality media coverage of development issues in the Irish media.