"This survey-based case study explored members' motives for using a closed Facebook group specifically for women journalists. Particularly, we explored a motivation based on the feminist ethics of care and members' experiences of harassment, job satisfaction, and confidence in discussing safety issu
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es with supervisors. Results indicated that gender-specific professional support and the ethics of care were primary motives for group use, and the ethics of care motive positively predicted job satisfaction. Additionally, those who experienced in-person harassment were more likely to be motivated by ethics of care, and the gender-specific professional support motive was related to confidence in discussing safety threats." (Abstract)
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"Journalism schools have being witnessing an increase in female enrollment in Nigeria, but this is not proportional to the number of women who work in media organizations. For the women who eventually get employed as journalists, they experience various safety challenges which affect their advanceme
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nt and continued presence in journalism. This chapter looked at safety challenges faced by female journalists in selected media organizations in Kano state of Nigeria. The study was hinged on spiral of silence theory to show how female journalists keep mute about the challenges they experience and prefer to report the so-called soft news. The study used focus group discussion and in-depth interview as the research methodology. Four sessions were held with each group consisting of eight female journalists. Findings show that majority of the participants had experienced threats, attacks, harassments, marginalization, and discrimination. In addition, most media organizations do not have laid down safety policies except for a few safety measures when the need arises." (Abstract)
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"International media monitoring organisations have continually called for commitment of critical actors of free expression and media freedom to ensure the safety of journalists in their strive for open societies. Another dimension to this call is the need to draw attention to the issue of gender-bas
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ed threats and discrimination in the media industry and its implications for free expression and media freedom. This chapter explores discrimination, gender equality, and safety risks in journalism." (Abstract)
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"In 2017, following the #MeToo movement stirred by the public outing of Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, the safety of women at the workplace became a prime agenda for international news media. Although far from being truly inclusive, the #MeToo movement rapidly spread to other parts of the worl
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d. Women of different nationalities, backgrounds, and race shared their stories of abuse and survival using the #MeToo hashtag and its variants. In 2018, women within the news media industry in India joined the movement and called out prominent editors, filmmakers, and artists on social media for perpetrating and abetting acts of sexual harassment and abuse against them. As an immediate result, several accused were made to resign from their organizations and dropped from prestigious public posts. However, a backlash to the movement followed soon after, most evidently in the form of victim-shaming and defamation lawsuits against women. Based on the theory of epistemic advantage, the study explores the perception of sexual harassment among journalists in India using in-depth interviews." (Abstract)
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"Journalism is a two-faced mirror that both generates and reflects social inequalities: Both people's experiences within news organizations and the content published by them make the gender inequality visible. We can define journalism, just like all other patriarchal institutions, as an institution
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that generates gender inequality. In order to get a clear understanding of this problem, we have to address the actors, means, processes and conditions that generate this inequality in journalism first, and then we may suggest solutions based on real-life cases. Indeed, knowledge building is, as always, a priority in order to make working conditions safer for women and LGBT journalists. This chapter aims to support the struggle for gender equality in journalism within this context." (Abstract)
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"This article examines sexual and gendered harassment among professional female editorial photographers, whose experiences have largely been under-researched. It draws on semi-structured interviews conducted between 2017–2019 with 17 female professional editorial photographers, aged 23–82, who w
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ork in a variety of beats. Sixteen of 17 interviewees encountered sexual harassment, with gendered harassment the most common. Harassers included professors, other photographers, colleagues, salespeople, subjects, and the general public, whom photographers encountered at school, work, while networking, and when using and buying gear. Largely, participants addressed the sexual and gendered harassment on an individual level, rather than reporting it to editors or other authorities. These findings add qualitative nuance to quantitative research that suggests physical risks and economic precarity may drive women from the profession." (Abstract)
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"The chapter identifies the new threats posed by digital developments and how they affect women journalists in particular. There are three main converging safety threats confronting women journalists in the digital age: online harassment and abuse against women journalists; orchestrated disinformati
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on campaigns targeting women journalists; and digital privacy and security threats exploiting women journalists' vulnerabilities. Online violence targeting women journalists manifests in a variety of ways that, nevertheless, share a number of common characteristics. The chapter exposes how a trend has emerged involving the specific targeting of women journalists by state and corporate actors engaged in “disinformation wars”. To illustrate the “new frontline” and bear witness of a rampant cyber-misogyny now confronting women journalists, the chapter presents four new international case studies from the Philippines, South Africa, India and Finland, and shows how all four female journalists used the techniques of research and investigative journalism against their attackers. Based on the research and policy analysis, the chapter ends with a series of recommendations, which could be used as part of a “combat plan” for key actors seeking to counter online violence against women journalists." (Abstract)
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"Today, a variety of gender-based threats and discrimination continue to characterize journalism. Both male and female journalists are prone to online and offline threats, casual stereotypes in their routine work, and discrimination (especially in terms of job opportunities, promotion, and pay-scale
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). Working in a safe and non-discriminatory environment is the right of all journalists, regardless of their gender. The Handbook of Research on Discrimination, Gender Disparity, and Safety Risks in Journalism is a critical reference book that highlights equal rights in journalism to ensure the safety of women and men. The book investigates the level and nature of threats, both online and offline, faced by journalists as well as gender discrimination in journalism. Best practices and examples that can promote a safe working environment and gender equality in journalism are also presented. Highlighting important themes such as online harassment, sexism, and gender-based violence, this book is ideal for journalists, reporters, media organizations, professionals, researchers, academicians, and students working or studying in the fields of journalism, media and communications, human rights, and women's studies." (Publisher description)
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"Media sector, in Nepal, has been vibrant and it is flourishing across all media outlets with about 1,000 newspapers, 600 radio stations, about five dozen television channels and more than 2,200 online news portals currently in operation across the country. Despite such an impressive figure, the rel
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uctance of media houses to spend on embracing the key dimensions of gender sensitivity including professional safety of women journalists at workplace has had a dropping effect on the entire sector. Women remain cut out of the key decision-making levels in media. Media houses do not have any comprehensive prevention, support, complaints, and redress system with regards to sexual harassment and bullying in the workplace. This chapter assesses the state of gender sensitivity in newsrooms of Nepal with reference to professional safety of women journalists. Observations indicate that media houses should give due priority to professional safety of women journalists." (Abstract)
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"In-depth interviews with 75 female journalists who work or have worked in Germany, India, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America reveal that they face rampant online gendered harassment that influences how they do their jobs. Many of the women report that if they aim to engage
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with their audience online – which is a job requirement for many of them – they frequently face sexist comments that criticize, attack, marginalize, stereotype, or threaten them based on their gender or sexuality. Often, criticism of their work is framed as misogynistic attacks and, sometimes, even involves sexual violence. The journalists have developed a variety of strategies for dealing with the abuse, including limiting what they post online, changing what stories they report on, and using technological tools to prevent people from posting offensive words on the journalists’ public social media pages. Results show that this harassment disrupts the routinized practice of reciprocal journalism because it limits how much these women can interact with the audience in mutually beneficial ways without being attacked or undermined sexually. While experiences of harassment were consistent across the countries studied, cultural differences were evident in how much the journalists were expected to engage online. Results are discussed in relation to the hierarchy of influences model that aims to explain how multiple forces influence media content." (Abstract)
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"This report presents a snapshot of the first substantial findings from a global survey about online violence against women journalists conducted by UNESCO and the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) in late 2020. Over 900 validated participants from 125 countries completed the survey in Ara
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bic, English, French, Portuguese and Spanish. The findings shared here reflect the input of the 714 respondents identifying as women. 73% of women respondents said they had experienced online violence. Threats of physical (25%) and sexual violence (18%) plagued the women journalists surveyed. And these threats radiated - 13% said they had received threats of violence against those close to them. 20% of women respondents said they had been attacked or abused offline in connection with online violence they had experienced. 13% increased their physical security in response to online violence and 4% said that they had missed work due to concerns about the attacks jumping offline. The mental health impacts of online violence were the most frequently identified (26%) consequence. 12% of respondents said they had sought medical or psychological help due to the effects of online violence. The story theme most often identified in association with increased attacks was gender (47%), followed by politics and elections (44%), and human rights and social policy (31%). 41% of the respondents to this survey said they had been targeted in online attacks that appeared to be linked to orchestrated disinformation campaigns. Political actors are the second most frequently noted sources (37%) of attacks and abuse after, anonymous or unknown attackers (57%), according to the women respondents." (Introduction)
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"Representation of women in media has been a noted gender equity issue globally for decades. Given the increasing encroachments into press freedom in Melanesia, female journalists and media workers face serious challenges. With this in mind, the Melanesia Media Freedom Forum (MMFF) hosted a special
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session focusing specifically on the issues affecting women in the media in Melanesia. This article focuses on the discussions of female Melanesian journalists and the unique challenges they face in terms of representation in the media workforce, having their voices heard in the media, and the threats to their personal safety." (Abstract)
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"The aim of the study is to investigate Estonian female journalists’ experiences with harassment resulting in self-censorship. We carried out three studies: one in 2015, a second in 2016 and a third one in 2018. The data were gathered by in-depth interviews (2015 and 2018), journalists’ diaries
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(2015) and a questionnaire (2016). The sample consisted of eight sports journalists (2015), 12 female journalists from different fields (2018) and 181 respondents (115 female, 66 male, 2016). The results of the three studies revealed that comments made towards female journalists aimed at degrading their authority (emphasizing age, experience or gender); and argued that female journalists should work elsewhere or find a more “female” profession. Female journalists did not read comments on their stories not only because of the lack of time, but to avoid harassment and insults. Secondly, to avoid harassment from sources or audiences, journalists showed signs of self-censorship as they avoided writing on topics that bring along more attention, such as refugees, minority groups, and corruption cases, or avoided writing on topics that include sources with whom they have had negative experiences." (Abstract)
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"Online harassment of women journalists imposes self-censorship and threatens women’s participation in online journalism. This is of grave concern for the development of freedom of speech and plurality in the media (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe [OSCE], 2019). Part of this i
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ssue’s complexity was summarized by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) Deputy General Secretary, Jeremy Dear: “In some parts of the world, it’s a result of what women write and in others it’s because of the mere fact that they write” (IFEX, 2019). Perhaps more often, these two motivational factors are working together creating a significantly more threatening online environment for female journalists than for their male colleagues. When such discontent appears within the ungoverned spheres of the Internet, the dimension of it seems to grow exponentially. The result is a climate of fear, silence and self-censorship – and potentially women’s absence in the future online public sphere. This chapter presents an explorative theoretical approach to understanding the processes at play when women journalists are threatened and harassed online. Looking primarily to research within gender- and feminist- theory, computer communication and cyber psychology studies and literature on antipress violence, I argue that female journalists’ predisposition to online harassment is largely connected to online governance (or lack thereof), an enduring patriarchy and a rise in threats against journalists." (Abstract)
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"This study examines the experiences of female journalists in Nepal in the context of rapidly growing expansion of broadband Internet. By examining the findings of the qualitative in-depth interview of 48 female journalists, it argues that online platforms are threatening press freedom in Nepal, mai
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nly by silencing female journalists. The study also indicates that the problem is particularly severe in such a patriarchal society as a significant number of incidents of abuse go unreported, largely due to a culture of shame as well as ineffective legislation. Over the course of this article, I have attempted to show how social issues raised by second-wave feminism and online feminism are similar. The findings show that some of the female journalists experiencing harassment tolerate it by being ‘strong like a man,’ while many of them avoid social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook to keep free of such abuse. The study also suggests that individual efforts to tackle the vicious issue of misogyny might not be enough and collective effort from legislation, media organisations, and feminists is required to address the issue." (Abstract)
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"This article, through conducting a study of the sexual harassment (SH) of media workers, investigates the extent and types of SH experienced by the editorial staff of Norwegian newsrooms at the time the #MeToo campaign arrived in Norway, and what effects such experiences have on journalists’ prof
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essional lives. We are also interested in what Norwegian media houses are doing to address these challenges. The leading research question consists of three interrelated parts: To what extent are journalists exposed to SH? What coping strategies do they use? How can newsrooms be better prepared to fight SH, from the perspective of the safety of journalists? A mixed methods approach, which combines findings from a quantitative questionnaire with qualitative in-depth interviews, was used to answer these questions. The findings show that female, young, and temporary media workers are significantly more frequently targeted than others and that those who had experienced SH handled the situation using avoiding strategies to a significantly greater extent than those who had only been exposed to unwanted attention experiences. The findings feed into a discussion of what strategies media houses can use to be better prepared in the fight against SH." (Abstract)
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"Safety of female journalists in and beyond the newsroom continues to stimulate debate on how risky environments can trigger self-censorship among journalists, yet few studies have investigated women journalists’ experience of risk in specific work contexts. This chapter examines the perception of
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risk among female journalists who cover political demonstrations, and how they negotiate such risks. Anchored in theories of media and gender, self-censorship and resilience, the chapter dwells on political demonstrations that have become pervasive in the more than 30-year rule of Uganda’s current president. Data were collected through focus group discussions with female reporters and structured in-depth interviews with newsroom managers. Findings indicate that covering political demonstrations is perceived as risky for female journalists, who are also increasingly aware of their vulnerability. This perceived vulnerability produces a deterrent effect on women’s enthusiasm to cover riots. Nonetheless, women rely on techniques that spur collective resilience, which in turn helps to avert self-censorship. Although focusing on political demonstrations, the instantiated perceptions would likely resonate with other situations in which female journalists work. Thus, applying a gender lens to future self-censorship and resilience studies may open new frontiers of understanding, especially of what gender-specific self-censorship and resilience practices thrive in different contexts." (Abstract)
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"Gender-based violence against women journalists has increased dramatically, both offline and online. These professionals face more barriers to performing their roles in safe conditions. Slow progress has been made by governments and news media industries to protect women journalists. Most of the pr
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ogressive actions to address this widespread problem have been achieved by journalists, non-government organizations (NGOs), and scholars. Thanks to the work done by these actors, violence against women journalists has been unveiled and caught the attention of human rights courts. Grounded in both communication studies and feminist theory, this chapter analyzes the structural conditions enabling gender-based violence against women journalists in Latin America to explore how it affects the collective right to freedom of expression and to consider responses to this crisis from activist movements." (Abstract)
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"A former news reporter looks back with horror at the news desk assignments that placed young women journalists in danger." (Abstract)
"Pakistan’s journalists confront severe safety risks across the country and impunity to crimes against them allows the perpetrators to go unpunished. Now the country is recognized as one of the deadliest places for working journalists in the world. Given this situation, the Pakistani female journa
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lists are more vulnerable because they are not only prone to safety risks and sexual harassment, but also they face gender discrimination when it comes to their recruitment and equal pay-scale. In the past decade, there has been an alarming increase in attacks on female journalists and incidents of their sexual harassment in Pakistan. Notwithstanding the growing plague of sexual harassment and gender discrimination in the country, the resilience of female journalists to work within a threatening and prejudiced environment has not yet fully explored and analysed. Therefore, drawing on the postcolonial feminist theory, this study aims to investigate the Pakistani female journalists’ lived experiences of sexual harassment, threats and discrimination. The study also analyses the impacts of sexual harassment, threats and gender discrimination on the country’s female journalists. To achieve the aforementioned aims, this study uses the qualitative methods of in-depth interviews and focus groups discussion, and offers a thematic analysis of qualitative data." (Abstract)
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