This paper is an output of a wider UNESCO-commissioned global study on online violence against women journalists, with a full-length study to be published in mid-2021. As a means of further informing the forthcoming study, the paper seeks to promote discussion and elicit information about effective legislative, organisational and normative initiatives, aligned to international standards for freedom of expression, which are designed to protect women journalists.

The research underpinning this paper consists of: a global survey of 901 journalists from 125 countries conducted in five languages; long-form interviews with 173 international journalists, editors, and experts in the fields of freedom of expression, human rights law, and digital safety; two big data case studies assessing over 2.5 million posts on Facebook and Twitter directed at two prominent women journalists (Maria Ressa in the Philippines and Carole Cadwalladr in the UK) undertaken to validate the self-reporting of our interviewees and survey respondents with objective data; 15 detailed country case studies; and a literature review covering hundreds of scholarly and civil society research publications. A team of 24 international researchers from 16 countries contributed to the study.

Authors: Julie Posetti, Nabeelah Shabbir, Diana Maynard, Kalina Bontcheva, Nermine Aboulez