Gender-based violence and harassment— both online and offline — is used to intimidate and silence female journalists, posing threats to press freedom. Online harassment has become a routine part of the job for many journalists, meaning they need to be aware and prepared. CPJ is chronicling these violations, ensuring that online violence is on the global agenda, advocating for increased protections with newsrooms and technology platforms as well as governments, and providing specialized safety resources. CPJ’s coverage includes troubling incidents of harm and censorship as well as inspiring stories of support and resilience.
Campaigns and Advocacy
Speaking | CPJ on ways to counter physical and digital threats against women journalists at the 2019 International Journalism Festival. Watch here.
Convening | CPJ has met with women journalists in Canada, Colombia, Ecuador, Ghana, Italy, Mexico, Spain, and the United States to discuss threats they face, and how to support them.
Organizing | At the UN’s 63rd Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), CPJ co-sponsored an event on the realities of being a female journalist online. Watch here.
- OSCE report, New Challenges to Freedom of Expression: Countering Online Abuse of Female Journalists | Laws, Norms and Block Bots: A Multifaceted Approach to Combatting Online Abuse, Courtney Radsch, CPJ advocacy director
- Submission to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights | Contribution for Secretary-General’s report: Safety of journalists and the issue of impunity
Safety Resources
Female and nonbinary journalists require a unique set of safety resources. CPJ introduced new and updated safety resources for those working in non-hostile environments.
Physical safety: Solo reporting
Digital safety: Removing personal data from the internet
Psychological safety: Online harassment and how to protect your mental health
Reporting and research
- ‘It made me more determined’: Iranian American journalist Masih Alinejad won’t stop reporting after Salman Rushdie stabbing
- Afghan journalist Ali Akbar Khairkhah disappears in Kabul, Taliban cracks down on women reporters
- Doha Diary: CPJ’s Lucy Westcott on her ‘honor of a lifetime’ — helping fleeing Afghan journalists
- CPJ condemns Colombian government’s move to leave Inter-American Court hearing on Jineth Bedoya case
- Journalist Malalai Maiwand shot dead in Afghanistan
- Journalist Patricia Devlin on working in Northern Ireland: ‘I feel vulnerable and I feel threatened’
- Brazilian journalist Patrícia Campos Mello faces online harassment campaign
- Moroccan authorities arrest journalist Hajar Raissouni
- ‘The threats follow us home’: Survey details risks for female journalists in U.S., Canada
- Why going solo is a risk for female reporters in the US and Canada