NATIONAL PRESS DAY: 73% women journalists face abuse on field while working

16 Nov 2022

According to the survey conducted by the International Center for Journalists among 901 journalists from 125 different countries, 73 per cent of women journalists had faced abuse while on the field.

Media and journalism have given a sharp and pointed image to terms like 'rape threats', 'sexism', 'misogyny', 'online threat' and 'eve-teasing'. But the hard truth is that women in media are the ones who experience online sexual assault and threats the most. The threats have been escalating in large numbers lately.

UNESCO and the International Center for Journalists surveyed 901 journalists from 125 different countries revealing that over 73 per cent of women journalists had faced abuse while working.

According to the report, 25 per cent of women journalists reported receiving sexual violence threats, and 18 per cent reported receiving physical threats, including death threats. Additionally, 13 per cent of women journalists reported receiving threats against their loved ones, including children and infants, and 48 per cent said they had been harassed by unwanted private social media messages.

Did UN Action Plan Help?

The UN action plan was adopted almost ten years ago with specific actions at the regional, national, and international levels. It aims to safeguard and prevent crimes against journalists. State-sponsored actors who support hate campaigns continue to use gender-based attacks to keep women journalists from expressing the truth or devaluing their work, reported Deccan Herald.

A reporter for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Omayra Issa, stated that her inbox is filled with death threats and other frightening messages, most of which use racial and gendered abuses.

Rise In Online Violence Threats

The increased use of the internet resulted in the unrestricted use of social media, which has made it simpler than ever for offenders to target women journalists with targeted harassment, abuse, and threats. The brutality level is at its highest because they remain hidden behind the screen.

The issue is also worsening because many female journalists fail to report the online abuse they face. Be it physical or mental, women journalists in any corner of the world have no security, especially given how reluctant governments are to take responsibility for their protection.

Strong Need For Policy Reforms

Democratic debate, media freedom, and women's rights advancement depend on female journalists' safety and security. But due to their gender identities and the increasing journalistic repression and control, women working in today's media are paying a high price.

These restrictions were further tightened during the Covid-19 pandemic, which primarily affected the working conditions for journalists and made them more dependent on internet interaction. As a result, female journalists are now more exposed than ever on social media platforms.

Therefore, there is a strong need for policy reforms and accountability procedures that offer global norms for privacy and freedom of expression to be implemented by both the government and the major social media companies.

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