How newsrooms can protect women journalists from online hate 

Digital spaces have enabled the voices of the masses to be heard. However, an alarming trend is on the rise. Journalists are now facing more online attacks than ever before. The Global Reporting Centre found that 63% of the 645 journalists surveyed faced monthly online attacks; 19% experienced it on a daily basis.

Such online attacks are not “just words”. They have deeper and more sinister outcomes. A journalist facing frequent online attacks might be perceived with less trust by the audience. This can be detrimental to their career, as being perceived as distrustful disfavours the news organisations from hiring them and the sources from opening up to them. 

Lack of trust in the journalists also has far-reaching consequences for the society. It poisons people’s belief in journalism and opens up avenues for people to believe in disinformation and fake news.

The report also found that journalists who face frequent attacks virtually have a higher chance of facing attacks physically.

The online space is particularly harsh on women. They are 27 times more likely to receive online harassment than men, according to one study. A UNESCO report notes that women are the first targets of online attacks among reporters. 44% of female journalists have experienced online violence, according to a report by the International Federation of Journalists. 

University of Zurich’s Dr. Lea Stahel says that “women experience more discrimination the more male-dominated the field they are in. In journalism, for example, that would be sports or technology.” Here the women journalists are perceived by bullies as breaking from their assigned traditional role. 

Along with the beat, the visibility also matters. The occurrence of online attacks increases for women journalists in broadcasting. Both these factors worked against Claudia Neumann, the first woman commentator of men's football in Germany. She faced severe backlash on social media with questions like “Does she even have permission to be outside the kitchen?”

“Not Just Words”, the report by the Global Reporting Centre cited above, suggests that there are two ways in which online attacks take place on journalists. The first is the “top-down” approach where virtual attacks come from politicians and political parties in power. This is usually seen more in countries with low press freedom (58.3%) than in countries with relatively better press freedom (21.5%). 

Such attacks often have more bite to them as people with political power have legal and monetary resources to translate their threats into action.

The other category of attacks is the “bottom-up” approach, orchestrated by citizens and the general public. This is loosely coordinated and not well-planned. But the volume of such attacks is much higher. 

Online attacks on women journalists are often gendered. While the most common way of attack for male journalists is to get accused of committing a crime, female journalists receive online threats of sexual nature. Chris Tenove, the lead author and researcher of the Global Reporting Centre’s “Not Just Words” report says that “women journalists are often attacked for the work they do as journalists, but [with the use of] gendered threats or forms of denigration.”

The global survey by Tenove and team found that 54% of the respondents experienced reputational attacks of political bias. A paper by Minnesota State University records that the most common threat for women in digital spaces is a rape threat. 

Tenove mentions to The Fix, “Such threats and denigration can have serious impacts.” Stahel’s research identified three ways women journalists would work to avoid attacks. The first method is by limiting their audience interaction. The second was to either change their reportage topic by dropping certain subjects or by changing their reporting style. And the last resort would be to give up the very profession of journalism.

The newsroom often is no more than a bystander. This leaves many journalists with a feeling of “exasperation and a sense of abandonment.” Tenove notes that “threats of sexual violence online and offline are much higher for women journalists, and addressing these requires extra forms of risk assessment and security support from employers.”

The first step the newsroom should take is to assess the situation. This includes looking into online avenues on which women journalists get hate. As Tenove says, "reputational attacks can occur in digital spaces that the targeted journalists or organisations are not currently monitoring, such as message boards or Telegram channels.”

It is important that organisations be transparent with the journalists and disclose to them what is being monitored. Tenove recommends hiring a third-party organisation to help newsrooms monitor the online attacks faced by journalists. He adds that “these may [also] focus on more serious violations and not all reputational attacks. Examples of those include the Canada Press Freedom Project and FLIP in Colombia.“

Multiple research shows that women journalists are more likely than men to get emotionally vulnerable as a result of online abuse. To deal with this, the newsrooms can offer them counselling sessions. Stahel recommends increasing “counselling services for journalists in general (for female journalists, an additional focus on [tackling] sexist attacks would make sense).”

Apart from dealing with the emotional trauma, newsrooms should also offer them resources to report online abuse. Stahel suggests opening “an anonymous drop-in centre if there are concerns that attacks related to one's job will be interpreted negatively by employers.” 

Lastly, the newsroom should step up and show support for their journalists. Tenove found that “the biggest challenge [for women journalists] is the silence from their employers and colleagues when they are being smeared or harassed.” A public declaration in favour of the journalist would help them realise they are not being abandoned. 

He does note that such public declaration is only possible in some cases and the journalists should have a key role in determining what about them is being publicly declared. Voicing support in public also helps the journalist maintain their credibility in front of the audience. 

Apart from these three specific ways, organisations should strive for a culture that promotes equality. As Tenove says, “news organisations need to make sure their own houses are in order, with appropriate policies and newsroom culture to promote equality and respect for all journalists.” 

If more women journalists deploy the avoidance strategy of quitting journalism, it would result in a field lacking the female perspective. As Stahel says, “female journalists, on average, bring a different perspective than male journalists due to their different socialisation and life experiences as women. Now, if female journalists avoid their audience or certain topics more than men, it can lead to a narrowing of perspective.”

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