Women in Media launches interactive map of online attacks on women journalists

The NGO Women in Media has launched a campaign to document online violence against Ukrainian women journalists for their reporting, the campaign’s website announced on March 12.

The organization says the map will enable tracking and analysis of such attacks, which will help reveal the scale of the problem and address it.

Photo by wim.org.ua

The map covers cases of online aggression that is sexist or misogynistic in nature, contains sexualized insults, hate speech, cyberbullying, gender misinformation, as well as:

• doxxing: disclosure of personal information that increases risks to physical safety;
• defamation: spreading false information about a person to to discredit them or harm their reputation;
• threats: calls for violence, including death threats or violent threats.

The organization says that online violence against women journalists most often surges following the release of journalist investigations on socially important topics such as:

• war;
• corruption;
• human rights.

Reproting on gender equality, feminism, and LGBTIQ+ rights is especially sensitive.

Such attacks can take various forms (e.g. intimidation, defamation, psychological pressure) and pose real threats to the target both online and offline.

The following forms of online violence against Ukrainian media workers are currently the most prominent:

• misogynistic and sexist language (e.g. “journoslut”);
• defamation aimed at undermining professional reputation (e.g. falsely painting a journalist as “pro-Russian”).

Journalists who have been subjected to online harrassment due to their reporting or have witnessed such incidents can report them on the Women in Media website by filling out a short questionnaire.

The questionnaire was developed based on international approaches, including:

• UNESCO recommendations from the study “The Chilling: recommendations for action responding to online violence against women journalists, Including an online violence response assessment framework”;
• OSCE Guidelines for monitoring online violence against female journalists.

The Women in Media initiative translated these documents into Ukrainian and posted them on the official websites of the organizations. All recorded incidents are verified and entered into the Incident Database. The organization provides journalists with: information and advocacy support, free consultations by cybersecurity experts, mental health assistance, and legal defense.

The Institute of Mass Information monitors violations of journalists’ rights in Ukraine with the Freedom of Speech Barometer and has been recording crimes against journalists committed by Russia since the start of the full-scale invasion.