Violence against women
Journalists on the rise
by Tharanga Yakupitiyage
A year later, Libyan journalist
Khawlija al-Amami was shot at by gunmen who pulled up to her car. Though
she survived, she later received a text message warning her to “stop
your journalism” or be killed.
NEW YORK, (IPS) - For women journalists, violence and intimidation don’t just
happen in conflict zones, they are every day experiences.
“You don’t even have to be in a conflict zone to be violated anymore,” New York
Times reporter and author of the Taliban Shuffle Kim Barker said at the launch
of a new book documenting the daily violence and harassment which women
journalists experience.
After writing an op-ed on her experience of sexual harassment in the field,
Barker said that an online commenter called her “fat” and “unattractive” and
told her that “nobody would want to rape you.”
Attacks
The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) chose to focus its
2016 edition of the Attacks on the Press book series on the gender-based online
harassment, sexual violence and physical assault experienced by women
journalists, because of the impact of this violence on press freedom.
“In societies where women have to fight to have control over their own bodies,
have to fight to reassert their right in the public space—being a woman
journalist is almost a form of activism,” said Egyptian broadcast journalist
Rawya Rageh who also spoke at the launch.
Much of the abuse takes place online where attackers can hide behind the
anonymity of online comments.
According to the Pew Research Center, 40 percent of Internet users have
experienced some form of online harassment.
Though men are also subject to harassment, online abuse towards women tends to
be more severe, including sexual harassment and threats of violence.
For example, one journalist reported to the The International Women’s Media
Foundation (IWMF) that a troll had threatened to “human flesh hunt” her.
Alessandria Masi, a Middle East correspondent for the International Business
Times, recalled the comments she received in an essay in CPJ’s book: “I have
been hacked by the Syrian Electronic Army for writing an article that was
critical of Syrian President Bashar Assad and asked how many people I have to
have sexual relations with to get my article published.”
Online abuse is a symptom of deep-seated and pervasive sexism, many note.
University of Maryland Law Professor and Author of “Hate Crimes in Cyberspace”
Danielle Keats Citron stated that online gender harassment “reinforce(s)
gendered stereotypes” where men are perceived as dominant in the workplace while
women are sexual objects who have no place in online spaces.
But the threats do not just stay online, they also often manifest in the real
world.
Dangers
Deputy Editor of a Colombian Newspaper Jineth Bedoya Lima was kidnapped and
raped in 2000 after exposing an underground network of arms trafficking in the
country.
In 2012, after reporting on the dangers of female genital mutilation, Liberian
journalist Mae Azongo received death threats including that she will be caught
and cut if she does not “shut up.” She was forced to go into hiding with her
nine-year-old daughter. A year later, Libyan journalist Khawlija al-Amami was
shot at by gunmen who pulled up to her car. Though she survived, she later
received a text message warning her to “stop your journalism” or be killed.
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) journalists also face similar
threats, CPJ added. Most recently, Xulhaz Mannan, editor of Bangladesh’s only
LGBT magazine, was hacked to death in his home.
However, many do not report their cases.“It was almost like this dirty little
secret, you didn’t talk about it…because you had to seem like you were just like
one of the guys,” Barker said. She pointed to Lara Logan’s case as the dividing
point.
While covering the Egyptian Revolution for CBS, Logan was violently sexually
assaulted by a mob of men. During an interview on “60 Minutes,” she described
how she was pulled away from her crew, her clothes ripped off, beaten with
sticks and raped.
When asked why she spoke out, Logan said that she wanted to break the silence
“on what all of us have experienced but never talk about.”
Gender
One key reason that many journalists do not speak out is the fear of being
pulled out of reporting because of their gender or sexual orientation.
“It’s a catch-22,” said Rageh to participants. “I don’t want to reinforce this
idea of who I am or what I am is going to curtail my ability to cover the story,
but of course there’s an issue that needs to be addressed,” she continued.
CPJ’s Vice Chair and Executive Editor of the Associated Press Kathleen Carroll
noted that the threat of sexual violence has long kept women out of the field of
journalism. But there are ways to handle such threats that do not lead to the
exclusion of women, she said.
Carroll said that good tools and training should be provided to journalists,
both women and men alike. IWMF established a gender-specific security training,
preparing women to be in hostile environments. This includes role-play
scenarios, risk assessments and communication plans. Effective, knowledgeable
and compassionate leaders are also needed in news agencies in order to help
staff minimize threats, Carroll added.
Panellists urged for reform, noting that women are needed in the field.
“The more women you have out there covering those stories, the more those
stories get told,” Barker said.
Voices
In an essay, Lima also reflected on the importance of women’s voices, stating:
“Our words, our will, can prevent the silencing of voices, the violation of our
freedom of expression…and we, as journalists, have a huge responsibility in this
regard. Our words can stir a fight or bury the hope of change forever.”
(IPS)
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