Call for action on violence against women journalists

The NUJ journalists’ union has called for harsher penalties and greater coordination to prevent systemic online violence against women journalists, following new research by the International Center for Journalists.

The UNESCO-commissioned research report, The chilling: global trends in online violence against women journalists, sets out that there is “nothing virtual about online violence”.

It adds: “It has become the new frontline in journalism safety — and women journalists sit at the epicentre of risk.

“Networked misogyny and gaslighting intersect with racism, religious bigotry, homophobia and other forms of discrimination to threaten women journalists — severely and disproportionately”.

Black, indigenous, Jewish, Arab and lesbian women journalists experienced both the highest rates and most severe impacts of online violence.

The survey also found “a climate of impunity surrounding online attacks on women journalists” that “erodes the foundations of journalism and undermines freedom of expression”. The NUJ said its findings echo many of its own safety survey findings.

General secretary Michelle Stanistreet pointed to “a clear and pressing need for harsher penalties to deter and punish the perpetrators”.

She also called for more engagement and coordination between law makers, social media platforms, employers, unions and independent safety experts.

https://en.unesco.org/publications/thechilling