1469: Harassment of Women Journalists: Global Statistics on Online Abuse, Violence, and Impunity (UNESCO–ICFJ, IFJ, RSF, CPJ, WPF 2024 Data)
Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)
Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/09/25
Global surveys (UNESCO–ICFJ) show that 73% of women journalists have faced online violence, with 25% receiving physical threats, 18% sexual threats, and 20% experiencing abuse that spilled offline. Attacks are most often linked to coverage of gender (47%), politics/elections (44%), and human rights/social policy (31%). Perpetrators are usually anonymous mobs, followed closely by political actors.
41% report facing coordinated disinformation. Meta (Facebook) is rated the least safe platform, with 48% of users having received unwanted direct messages. The impact is profound: 30% self-censor, 20% withdraw from online interaction, 11% miss work, 4% quit their jobs, and 2% leave journalism altogether. The heaviest toll is on mental health.
Only 25% of women journalists report incidents to their employers, and only 53% report them anywhere at all — suggesting the real rates are far higher.
An IFJ survey across 50 countries found 48% suffered gender-based violence at work, with 44% reporting online abuse. Forms included verbal (63%), psychological (41%), sexual harassment (37%), economic (21%), and physical (≈11%). Perpetrators included sources, politicians, or audiences (45%), as well as bosses or supervisors (38%).
Carceral repression adds to the threat. Reporters Without Borders reports that as of early 2024, 12.7% of imprisoned journalists are women, but they received 55% of the longest sentences since January 2023 — a stark disproportion. CPJ recorded 361 jailed worldwide as of December 1, 2024, near a historic high. Women Press Freedom counted 92 women journalists in prison on May 3, 2024, and 951 violations in 2024, including 37 detentions.
The dangers also turn deadly. The IFJ recorded 122 journalists and media workers killed in 2024, including 14 women. Impunity remains the rule: ~85% of journalist killings go unpunished, according to UNESCO.
Women journalists want to report the news for the public’s right to know. These are the contemporary risks they live with every day.
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