SECTOR 1 Scores: Individual scores: 1 Country does not meet indicator 2 Country meets only a few aspects of indicator 3 Country meets some aspects of indicator 4 Country meets most aspects of indicator 5 Country meets all aspects of the indicator Average score: 4.3 (2006: 4.2; 2008: 4.5; 2011: 4.0) 1.2 The right to freedom of expression is practised and citizens, including journalists, are asserting their rights without fear. The right to freedom of expression is being practiced by citizens, but there are a number of factors that affect people’s ability to express themselves fully. This includes excessive deference to authority, including in terms of age and gender. “We have a culture of looking up to authority, and people don’t like to criticise those in powerful positions.” “[Ghanaians are raised] with the ingrained culture of speaking with deference to elders. In the workplace, if you want to secure a job, there are things you won’t say, even in the field of journalism, for fear of losing your job or losing your market. Owners and journalists on the field are torn between what to do, and although the fear may not be as it was in the military days, it is there. We can’t say that the right to freedom of expression is practised in the presence of this silence.” Language also affects people’s ability to express themselves freely, and increasingly, more radio stations are cropping up, allowing more people to express themselves through this medium. Further, in work environments where the culture of the organisation does not provide the space for people to express themselves freely, “people keep quiet”. “When it comes to the practise of freedom of expression, there is that ‘fear and panic’, and people don’t want to lose their calabash (jobs).” There is also a fear that in the creation of ‘fear and panic’, “security agents are keeping others from expressing themselves freely”. 14 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER GHANA 2013