Silenced voices – Online violence against women
How do editorial offices and external organisations deal with gender-specific online violence against female journalists? The aim of the doctorate is to develop practical and realisable proposals for action to better protect female journalists.
The worldwide increase in violence against journalists, especially online, poses a serious threat to press freedom and thus to democratic societies (Reporters Without Borders, 2021). Female journalists are not only affected more frequently, but also in more severe forms than their male colleagues, 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 in particular when female journalists report on topics in male-dominated areas or on polarising topics (Springer & Troger, 2021).
This suggests that the aim of online violence is to damage the reputation and careers of female journalists and to deliberately silence them (Posetti & Shabbir, 2022) and characterises online violence against female journalists as a problem area that differs from general attacks against the press.
The female journalists affected are usually left to their own devices to deal with such incidents: In many editorial offices, there have so far been inadequate protective measures and support structures (Chen et al., 2020), and the effects on those affected range from psychological stress to chilling effects such as self-censorship or withdrawal from the profession (Posetti & Shabbir, 2022).
Against this background, the doctoral project examines how gender-specific online violence is dealt with at an institutional level and which structural measures can contribute to more effective protection of affected female journalists.
Research questions
- How do editorial offices and external organisations support affected female journalists in dealing with gender-specific online violence?
- What structural and organisational challenges do they face when implementing measures against gender-based online violence?
- What transformative solutions can be developed for the field described in a transdisciplinary manner?
Methodology
The cumulative dissertation follows a practice-based and transformative research approach (Defila and Di Giulio, 2018) and consists of at least three scientific contributions.
- Systematic literature review to capture the international status quo of the topic
Mixed-methods study on the approach in selected media companies and external aid organisations in Germany with:
- surveys
- guided interviews
- participant observation
- document analysis- Quantitative survey and evaluation of measures in editorial offices and their dimensions
Objective and transfer
The phenomenon of online violence against female journalists has so far mainly been researched from the perspective of those affected, even if organisational processes have been addressed. However, especially when it comes to structural measures, the perspective of the editorial offices and organisations involved is valuable and should not be ignored.
The aim of the dissertation is, on the one hand, to contribute to closing this research gap and to better understand and scientifically analyse the structural dimension of online violence.
On the other hand, the dissertation project places a special focus on the practical applicability of the results: Concrete and realisable proposals for action are to be developed for editorial offices and external companies in order to support them in combating gender-specific online violence more effectively and to better protect female journalists.
Literature
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 Centre for Journalists.
Reporters Without Borders. (2021). How sexism threatens women journalists. Reporters Without Borders.
Springer, N., & Troger, F. (2021). "You are under close observation, uncomfortable observation." Journalism, 66(1), 43-65. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11616-020-00637-w