STATE OF PRESS FREEDOM IN SOUTHERN AFRICA 2022 “As the result of a hostile environment and distinct socialisation patterns”, media researchers Simone Abendschön and Gema García-Albacete concluded that “the online environment imposes additional obstacles to women’s willingness to discuss politics.” violence, may be less likely to be prioritised at a decision-making level because their voices are underrepresented at the table. This could also affect the understanding that women journalists face specific challenges when it comes to gender-based violence. Women’s voices are often ignored and belittled, and a constant stream of harassment, from threats of violence and “doxxing” to image-based sexual abuse and sexualised disinformation, has inhibited women’s voices. Creating a safe media environment, along with an end to impunity for crimes committed against journalists, is essential if society is to continue to receive reliable information produced by media professionals. Acts of harassment that take place online also often have consequences for women; they experience physical danger and threats of rape and death in some instances. Journalists need to be able to do their jobs without fear or intimidation. This means paying attention to the risks that exist online and offline, and addressing them. We, therefore, have to continuously question what happens to our societies when abuse stifles the voices of already underrepresented women who work in the media. Removing one of the biggest barriers to understanding the level of risk is the fact that journalists do not report abuse. Harassment impacts on journalistic passion, which is the motivation that gets people into the business. It has been observed that in many countries, women are excluded from top editor and manager positions. A WAN-IFRA Women in News report(7) into who holds top leadership positions in 192 media organisations across 17 countries found glaring gaps in gender representation. On average, women hold only 10% of business lead positions (as CEOs or managing directors) and only 31% of editorial leads (such as editorin-chief). This means that issues that affect women journalists such as misogynistic online Professional media organisations need to pay greater attention to emerging risks to journalists’ safety by committing to setting up departments that receive reports of offline and online harassment, and advocate for legal action. One of the gaps identified in research on journalists’ harassment is a lack of adequate reporting mechanisms. Professional platforms have an opportunity to address this gap. And because there is strength in numbers, they are more likely to get the attention of the industry and government stakeholders to advocate for change. Professional organisations can also create safe spaces that bring a variety of voices to the table, and provide channels to identify repeat harassers and stop them. References ONLINE AND OFFLINE HARASSMENT OF WOMEN JOURNALISTS (1) Online is defined by digital social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter as well as websites (2) Offline is defined by the office environment (newsroom) as well as off site, when journalists interview sources and attend work events in an environment other than the newsroom (3) Maria Ressa- Fighting an Onslaught of Online Violence: ICFJ Publication; Page 7 (4) ‘The Chilling: Global trends in online violence against women journalists’ (5) https://sexualharassment.womeninnews.org/research/ (6) https://womeninnews.org/2021/06/faith-zaba-the-day-social-media-turned-on-me/ (7) https://womeninnews.org/leadership-mapping/ 28