García Sosa & Oliver i Rojo on Gender, Media, and Law in Spain
Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project
Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/12/15
Montserrat García Sosa is a Barcelona-based feminist journalist and translator linked to La Independent, Catalonia’s gender-perspective news agency, and the network XIDPIC.CAT–XIPVG. Her work centers on gender equality, media accountability, and the rights of women journalists across Catalonia and the Mediterranean. She has moderated and translated sessions at Mediterranean women-communicators meetings and contributes reporting and analysis for La Independent, including coverage of On Són Les Dones’ monitoring and human-rights risks in Mesoamerica. Earlier, she contributed articles to the book “Els usos del temps en famílies catalanes.” García Sosa connects journalism, activism, and translation to strengthen media practices in Spain.
Alícia Oliver i Rojo is a Barcelona-based feminist journalist specialized in gender-equality reporting. She co-founded the Associació de Dones Periodistes de Catalunya (ADPC), the Xarxa Europea de Dones Periodistes (XEDP), and the Red Internacional de Periodistas con Visión de Género (RIPVG), and serves as coordinator of XEDP and co-coordinator of the RIPVG. She leads the Col·legi de Periodistes de Catalunya’s Periodisme Solidari working group. Previously, she wrote and presented RNE-Ràdio 4’s “Dotze estels/Doce estrellas” (1996–2004), the first EU-focused radio program in Catalonia, which she directed. Oliver works freelance on communication, human rights, global migration, and media with a gender perspective.
In this interview with Scott Douglas Jacobsen, Barcelona-based feminist journalists Montserrat García Sosa and Alícia Oliver i Rojo link reporting, activism, and translation to strengthen Spain’s media. They describe #LasPeriodistasParamos as catalytic but fragile, sustaining March 8 mobilizations while patriarchy persists. On Són Les Dones audits show opinion spaces remain male-dominated despite TV parity. Spain’s Ley Orgánica 10/2022 improved consent-centered reporting amid misinformation. Professional bodies urge rigorous, non-sensational coverage to counter manipulation. The EU’s 2024 directive mandates measures by 2027; Catalonia already recognizes digital violence. Precarity and wage gaps endure, with parity decades away. Gender-perspective outlets matter, yet limited resources constrain reach; ethics and verification remain paramount.
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: In 2018, the collective #LasPeriodistasParamos mobilized thousands of women. What durable newsroom changes followed this?
Montserrat García Sosa and Alícia Oliver i Rojo: History teaches us that changes are never lasting. That said, what it did achieve was bringing many women journalists out into the streets to show our rejection of the patriarchal practices in our society. From then on, a whole movement of support was created among women and, in our case, among women journalists. Every March 8th, we continue organizing activities to demand the long-awaited equality in the media and an end to sexist violence, including online violence against women journalists, which, unfortunately, we are experiencing increasingly.
Jacobsen: On Són Les Dones has repeatedly audited women’s presence in opinion spaces, how are things for women in media in Spain?
Sosa and Rojo: Regarding opinion, there is no way forward, especially in major mass media. The larger the media is the fewer women express their opinions (and the same is true in decision-making positions). Opinion continues to be considered a space reserved mainly for men.
As the collective Where Are the Women? points out, the media “continue systematically silencing women’s opinions.” In their latest study on media in Catalonia, conducted last April, the figures they reported are as follows:
29% of women’s opinions in print media
36% in digital press
43% on radio
50% on television, the only medium that is gender balanced.
Jacobsen: Spain’s Ley Orgánica 10/2022 addresses sexual violence. How has this law changed reporting practices?
Sosa and Rojo: We know that any progress in human rights faces an adverse reaction. In the case of women’s rights, this is what we are experiencing right now. It is due to misinformation and the numerous hoaxes spread through social media and far-right media platforms, so-called “pseudo-media”. Rumors such as that there are more sexual assaults today and that these are attributed to the immigrant population, which is completely false, as police statistics show. It is also false that there are more rapes. What is happening is that many more sexual aggressions are being reported today. It is clear that the progress made by feminist and women’s movements, which have been at the forefront of demanding laws and commitments, has made it possible to have a law that takes consent into account and the application of more severe penalties.
Jacobsen: FAPE’s recommendations urge rigorous, non-sensational coverage. Where are the gaps between guidance and practice in journalism?
Sosa and Rojo: Regional journalists’ associations throughout Spain like the Federation of Journalists’ Associations of Spain (FAPE), the Federation of Journalists’ Unions (FeSP), and other regional journalists’ associations, rightly demand the defense of truthful, rigorous, and ethical journalism. This principle is enshrined in the various codes of ethics that govern the profession.
At a time of heightened political tension—a climate that undoubtedly affects citizens and undermines the credibility of both political and journalistic institutions, among others—its relevance is greater than ever.
Truthful, rigorous, and non-sensationalist reporting is the strongest defense against manipulation, demagoguery, and the tide of misinformation. Today, misinformation stands as the greatest threat to both journalism and democracy.
Jacobsen: In 2024, the EU adopted a law combating violence against women. What responsibilities does this place on Spanish media?
Sosa and Rojo: On May 14, 2024, the European Union approved its first directive to combat violence against women. Member States are required to adopt the necessary measures to implement it by June 14, 2027. Spain was already a pioneer in this area with the 2004 Comprehensive Protection against Gender Violence Act, the first of its kind in Europe. The law not only addressed criminal issues but also emphasized prevention, education, and social measures.
In Catalonia, Law 5/2008 on Women’s Right to Eradicate Gender-Based Violence expanded protections by recognizing various forms of abuse—physical, psychological, sexual, and economic. A 2020 reform broadened the law further to include digital violence, which especially affects journalists, politicians, human rights defenders, and LGTBIQ+ groups.
Jacobsen: The APM reports women journalists face precarious work, low pay, and polarization. How does precarity intersect with gender in journalism?
Sosa and Rojo: In today’s patriarchal society, job insecurity and the wage gap continue to exist across many areas of social and economic life, despite the fact that laws formally prohibit them. According to the United Nations, unless decisive action is taken and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is fully implemented, the gender gap will not be closed. Indeed, a report released in September 2024 estimated that it will take 137 years to lift all women and girls out of poverty.
In Spain, the association ClosinGap—formed by 17 major companies dedicated to analyzing the economic impact of gender inequalities—published a report in February stating that “at the current rate, the country will need 37 more years to achieve gender parity.” So it’s not just women journalists who face job insecurity and the wage gap—it’s women everywhere, simply because they are women.
Jacobsen: Outlets with a gender perspective might position themselves as corrective voices, what is their realistic impact?
Sosa and Rojo: Unfortunately, the impact remains limited due to a lack of resources. At a time when technological, economic, and climate crises overlap, it is increasingly difficult for journalism to reach a wide audience. Meanwhile, younger generations are turning away from traditional media such as newspapers, radio, and television. We are living in a time of profound change that will inevitably reshape our profession, for better or worse. However, journalism remains essential. Our duty, guided by the code of ethics, is to verify the facts and resist the temptation to publish the first rumor that comes our way.
Jacobsen: Thank you for the opportunity and your time, and nice to talk to you again.
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