Hostile Environment Basics: HEFAT for Journalists

What is HEFAT?

Hostile Environment and First Aid Training (HEFAT) prepares journalists and other field professionals for the physical, psychological, and security risks they may face in conflict zones, civil unrest, or other hostile environments. A standard HEFAT course combines conflict awareness, security risk assessment, emergency trauma first aid, and practical scenarios including mock checkpoints, vehicle drills, and simulated hostile interrogation exercises.

HEFAT is considered essential for foreign correspondents and is increasingly recommended for UK journalists covering civil unrest, major incidents, and high-risk investigations. The ACOS Alliance minimum safety standards, adopted by many major newsrooms, include HEFAT as a requirement before hostile environment deployment. The ACOS standards also require that commissioning outlets — not just the journalist — bear responsibility for ensuring appropriate training and insurance are in place before any deployment.

The Rory Peck Trust, which supports freelance journalists specifically, publishes annual data on journalist fatalities and injuries and has consistently found that freelancers without HEFAT training face disproportionate risk. The Trust administers grants covering the full cost of training for qualifying freelancers.

What a HEFAT course covers

Course content varies by provider and is often tailored to the specific region or threat environment. The following modules are standard across most accredited HEFAT courses.

UK HEFAT training providers

The following providers are established and widely used by UK and international media organisations. Always verify that any HEFAT provider has experience training journalists specifically — generic security training for corporate clients does not address the editorial and legal dimensions of field journalism.

Kit checklist for hostile environment deployment

The appropriate kit depends entirely on the threat environment — always seek provider guidance for your specific deployment. The following is a general reference for high-risk assignments.

Insurance for high-risk assignments

Standard travel insurance is inadequate for conflict zone or hostile environment deployment. Specialist policies cover emergency medical evacuation, security evacuation, kidnap and ransom response, and equipment. The Rory Peck Trust publishes a guide to insurance providers for freelance journalists, updated annually. Staff journalists working for large broadcasters such as the BBC or major news agencies will typically be covered under corporate group policies that include hostile environment provisions; freelancers must arrange their own.

NUJ members have access to some group insurance arrangements — check with the union for current provisions, as these change. Specialist brokers such as Beazley and K&R (kidnap and ransom) specialists operate in this market. Always read the exclusions carefully: many policies exclude self-initiated travel to active conflict zones, require pre-approval for certain destinations, or exclude coverage if you are not accompanied by accredited local fixers.

• ›Confirm your policy explicitly covers the specific country and assignment type before departure.
• ›Check whether your policy covers local staff and fixers — some do, many do not.
• ›NUJ members have access to some group insurance cover — check with the union for current provisions.
• ›If a commissioning outlet does not provide insurance for a hostile environment assignment, the ACOS Alliance minimum standards provide grounds to negotiate.
• ›Keep your insurer's emergency line number saved offline and on a physical card in your wallet.

Red flags: common pre-deployment mistakes

• ⚠Accepting a hostile environment assignment without verifying that HEFAT training is up to date — training older than three years should be refreshed.
• ⚠Relying on a commissioning outlet's assurance that “arrangements are in place” without sight of the actual insurance policy and risk assessment.
• ⚠Travelling with equipment that is not covered by the insurance policy, or that could be confiscated at the border.
• ⚠Not registering with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) travel advice system for your destination — FCDO alerts may affect your editorial planning.
• ⚠Failing to complete a written pre-deployment risk register and share it with your editor and next of kin.
• ⚠Not briefing your fixer or local contact on emergency communication procedures and check-in schedules.
• ⚠Using your normal digital devices without pre-deployment hardening — see our Travel Security guide.
• ⚠Assuming that PRESS markings guarantee safety in all environments — in some conflict situations, press identification increases targeting risk.

Pre-deployment checklist

• HEFAT training completed and current (within three years).
• Specialist hostile environment insurance confirmed in writing, with policy number and emergency line stored offline.
• Pre-deployment risk register completed and shared with editor and next of kin.
• Satellite phone procured and tested, with emergency contact numbers loaded.
• Body armour and helmet appropriate to threat level sourced and fitted.
• Trauma first aid kit packed and I know how to use every item in it.
• FCDO travel advice reviewed and embassy contact noted.
• Digital devices hardened: full-disk encryption, remote wipe enabled, minimised accounts.
• Check-in schedule agreed with desk — agreed missed check-in escalation protocol documented.

HEFAT refresher and digital security add-ons

Most providers recommend refreshing HEFAT every two to three years. Increasingly, providers offer digital security modules as add-ons, covering device security for conflict zones, border crossing procedures, and surveillance awareness. For digital security guidance, see Travel Security for Journalists and our Digital Tools Comparison.

Frequently asked questions