Silenced Voices: Structural Perspectives on Online Violence against Female Journalists

The global rise in violence against journalists, particularly online, poses a serious threat to press freedom and, consequently, to democratic societies (Reporters Without Borders, 2021). Female journalists are not only affected more frequently than their male colleagues, but also in more severe ways, often through sexualised violence (Harlow et al., 2022; Kim & Shin, 2022). Criticism of their journalistic work is also often characterised by misogynistic rhetoric and occurs particularly when female journalists report on topics in male-dominated sectors or on polarising issues (Springer & Troger, 2021).
This suggests that the aim of online violence is to damage the reputation and careers of female journalists and deliberately silence them (Posetti & Shabbir, 2022) and identifies online violence against female journalists as a distinct issue that differs from general attacks on the press.
When dealing with such incidents, the female journalists affected are usually left to fend for themselves: in many newsrooms, protective measures and support structures remain inadequate (Chen et al., 2020). The impact on those affected ranges from psychological distress to chilling effects such as self-censorship or withdrawal from the profession (Posetti & Shabbir, 2022).
Against this backdrop, this PhD project examines how gender-specific online violence is addressed at an institutional level and which structural measures can contribute to more effective protection for affected female journalists.

Research questions

1. How do newsrooms and external organisations support female journalists affected by gender-based online violence?
2. What structural and organisation challenges do they face when implementing measures against gender-based online violence?
3. What transformative solutions can be developed in a transdisciplinary manner for the field described?

Methodology

This cumulative doctoral thesis follows a practice-oriented and transformative research approach (Defila and Di Giulio, 2018) and comprises at least three academic papers.

1. A systematic literature review to assess the international status quo of the topic

2. A mixed-methods study examining the approaches taken by selected media organisations and external aid organisations in Germany, involving:

   - Surveys
   - structured interviews
   - participant observation
   - document analysis

3. Quantitative survey and analysis of measures in editorial departments and their dimensions
   

Aim and Transfer

The phenomenon of online violence against female journalists has so far been researched mainly from the perspective of those affected, even though organisational processes have also been addressed. However, particularly when it comes to structural measures, the perspective of the editorial teams and organisations involved is valuable and should not be overlooked.

On the one hand, the aim of this doctoral thesis is to help bridge this research gap and to gain a better understanding of the structural dimension of online violence, analysing it from an academic perspective.

On the other hand, the dissertation project places particular emphasis on the practical applicability of the findings: concrete and actionable recommendations are to be developed for editorial teams and external organisations to help them combat gender-specific online violence more effectively and better protect female journalists.

References

Chen, G. M., Pain, P., Chen, V. Y., Mekelburg, M., Springer, N., & Troger, F. (2020). ‘You really have to have a thick skin’: A cross-cultural perspective on how online harassment influences female journalists. Journalism, 21(7), 877–895.

Defila, R., & Di Giulio, A. (Eds.). (2018). Transdisciplinary and transformative research: A collection of methods. Springer Fachmedien. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-21530-9

Harlow, S., Wallace, R., & Cueva Chacón, L. (2022). Digital (In)Security in Latin America: The Dimensions of Social Media Violence against the Press and Journalists’ Coping Strategies. Digital Journalism, 0(0), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2022.2128390

Kim, C., & Shin, W. (2022). Harassment of Journalists and Its Aftermath: Anti-Press Violence, Psychological Suffering, and an Internal Chilling Effect. Digital Journalism, 0(0), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2022.2034027

Posetti, J., & Shabbir, N. (2022). The Chilling: A global study of online violence against women journalists. International Center for Journalists.

Reporters Without Borders. (2021). How sexism threatens female journalists. Reporters Without Borders.

Springer, N., & Troger, F. (2021). “You are under close scrutiny – unpleasant scrutiny”. Publizistik, 66(1), 43–65. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11616-020-00637-w