“I Really Wanted Them to Have My Back, But They Didn’t” – Structural Barriers to Addressing Gendered Online Violence Against Journalists

In this study, I explore how the working environment of journalists shapes or constrains opportunities for addressing gendered online violence. How are barriers to addressing online violence within media organizations perceived in different press freedom contexts?

Sample

While we know that gendered online violence is often not taken seriously or addressed in a systematic manner by media organizations, the findings from this study offer deeper insights as to why media organizations often fail to adequately support their workers in this regard. I argue that the considerable parallels between online violence and other forms of “internal” workplace harassment means that we should not consider the two as separate phenomena, but rather expressions of the same structural forces.

Main Findings

I find that these structural barriers play out through three main dynamics: stratified access to support resources, workplace norms that punish reporting online violence as signs of “weakness,” and precarious conditions that leave journalists with little control over their work. Adverse press freedom conditions also appear to exacerbate the impact of these dynamics.

Policy recommendations/implications

This study emphasizes the need for devoting the appropriate resources, time, and labor within the newsroom to create support structures for journalists affected by online harassment. It shows that individual solutions are not enough for dealing with the problem at its merited scale. While I have attempted to show in this thesis that generating the necessary resources and spaces to address the problem on a collective basis remains difficult, I also pinpoint that commitment on the part of management goes a long way in creating a working environment where online harassment is taken seriously. This requires material resources and more equitable employment structures within journalism, but can also be aided by training and awareness campaigns. My findings also show that cultural change within media organization and stronger peer support networks can make a difference. This can be facilitated by linking up multiple actors, including civil society and grassroots movements, with the media sector in order to generate meaningful interventions.