A/HRC/31/55 good practices within the media to combat this phenomenon include proactive training about defenders at higher risk and emerging rights, as well as stronger support within media outlets for defenders and those working on these issues. Women defenders have noted a strong correlation between media outlets hiring and supporting women journalists and improved coverage of women’s rights. 2. Human rights education 81. Human rights education is a long-standing tactic of the human rights movement and should be directed at various audiences, including State officials, professional groups, students and the general public. Rights education can lead not only to a better understanding of a State’s human rights obligations, but can also serve as a vehicle for understanding “the relationships that undergird the discourses and actions of human rights violators, human rights protectors, and human rights victims.”18 It can also provide other concrete dividends; for example, training medical staff in human rights could facilitate the collection and presentation of forensic evidence in the prosecution of perpetrators of violence against defenders. 82. Human rights should be an important component of primary and secondary curricula, and be part of “citizenship” training. Human rights “clubs” have been established in some secondary schools to provide a forum for young people to learn about human rights. Human rights education should also be part of the training of State officials, especially if their work contains human rights dimensions. Post-secondary institutions, including universities, play an important role in human rights education, including in the training of teachers, research and the dissemination of innovative approaches to defending human rights. 83. In all educational sectors, successful human rights education bridges the gap between the knowing and the doing. Innovative pedagogies, such as role-based simulations, mock report writing and field placements, help to fill this gap and to equip future defenders with the knowledge and skills that their future practice will require. Successful education and training are often rooted in cooperation between educational institutions on the one hand and defenders on the other. Bringing defenders “into the classroom” can be a rewarding experience for both. 3. Human rights awards 84. Awards for defenders are an important means of drawing attention to their important work and the risks that they face. There are currently more than 100 human rights awards, more than half of which have been instituted since the turn of the millennium. 19 Prominent awards have also been created explicitly for human rights defenders, such as the Civil Rights Defenders Award, the Human Rights Tulip, the Front Line Defenders Award and the Martin Ennals Award. These awards sometimes come with financial payments that assist award winners to pursue further their human rights activities. The awards also help to build the profile and legitimacy of defenders, give voice to their security concerns and celebrate their successes. Awards often aim at leveraging media attention to improve the situation of defenders. 18 19 Susan Banki, Elisabeth Valiente-Riedl and Paul Duffill, “Teaching Human Rights at the Tertiary Level: Addressing the ‘Knowing-Doing Gap’ through a Role-Based Simulation Approach”, Journal of Human Rights Practice, vol. 5, No. 2 (2013), p. 321. Johannes Thoolen, “Human Rights Awards for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders” Journal of Human Rights Practice, vol. 5, No. 3 (2013), pp. 548-555. 15