MALAWI STUDIES in Malawi have shown that cases of online genderbased violence are often as a result of what would have happened offline. In one instance, quoted by the State of Press Freedom in Southern Africa Report, in 2019, Malawian WhatsApp groups were awash with a video of a woman who was being stripped naked by men for wearing political party regalia. The woman was stripped naked and ridiculed by men from an opposing political party. The men were eventually arrested and charged for insulting the modesty of a woman, robbery, and use of force under the Penal Code. It is important to point out that the provisions of the Penal Code that were used in this case were drafted in 1930. Section 37 of the Penal Code state that: “Whoever, intending to insult the modesty of any woman, utters any word, makes any sound or gesture, or exhibits any object intending that such word or sound shall be heard, or that such gesture or object shall be seen, by such woman, shall be guilty of a misdemeanour and shall be liable for imprisonment for one Women’s experience(s) of gender-based cyber violence year.” While not quite explicit, this law could be used to prosecute online gender-based violence. This provides a platform for which Malawi could build on its laws to provide for an improvement in the safety of female journalists online. Official statistics on online cases of online gender-based violence in Malawi, like most countries in Southern Africa, are hard to come by. But a study on cyber violence against women in Malawi is instructive on understanding the landscape in that country. Frequency (multiple response) Percentage Cyber harassment 51 76.1 Cyber bullying 56 83.6 Cyber stalking (e.g. false accusations, threats, etc) 62 92.5 Online hate speech 31 46.3 Online sexual exploitation 48 71.6 Non-consensual pornography 36 53.7 Online defamation 29 43.3 Others 13 19.4 While survey is not specific to female journalists, it acts as a microcosm of the general landscape in that country. Such data helps in understanding the nature of online gender-based violence, with the findings being extrapolated to female journalists. 13