ISOJ panel on online violence against women jounalists will discuss ways to combat this global scourge

Women in journalism increasingly face online threats, harassment, violence and attacks every day. UNESCO reports that 73% of women journalists who responded to a recent global survey have experienced online violence in the course of their work, while 25% experienced physical violence, 18% were threatened by sexual violence, and 20% were attacked offline as a direct result of the online threats.

A panel at ISOJ will address online violence against women with a group of advisors on digital security, educators, advocates and investigative journalists, (including a co-author of that UNESCO report). During the panel, these experts will explain how they’re working to deal with the issue at large and strategies they’re undertaking to combat it. Journalists from around the world are invited to tune into the panel to learn more about this global issue.

The panel will be on the third day of ISOJ Online, Wednesday, April 28 at 1 p.m. U.S. Central Daylight Time (-5:00 UTC). Use this to find out the equivalent time in your region. But first, visit ISOJ’s website for more details, and make sure you register here for ISOJ.

Elisa Lees Muñoz, the executive director of the International Women’s Media Foundation, will lead the panel discussion. Muñoz seeks to improve the skills, security and lives of female journalists through her work with the foundation. She is a human rights activist and has worked with the Crimes of War Education Project, American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.

Four additional phenomenal women in journalism will join the conversation:

• Julie Posetti joins the panel discussion as Global Director of Research at the International Center for Journalists. Posetti was awarded the Australian Human Rights Awards for Radio for her coverage of Indigenous affairs during her time with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. She is the author of Protecting Journalism Sources in the Digital Age, and co-editor of Journalism, ‘Fake News’ and disinformation. She is one of the authors of a recent study published by UNESCO, the Global Survey on Online Violence against Women Jounalists.
• Ela Stapley is a journalist and digital security advisor for the IWMF, where she advises the development of their online harassment initiative. Stapley was the instructor of a Knight Center MOOC titled, Online Harassment: Strategies for Journalists’ Defense. She advises freelance journalists in digital safety and aids global media workers in emergency assistance.
• Ferial Haffajee, South African editor and investigative reporter of the Daily Maverick, was awarded the International Press Freedom Award by the Committee to Protect Journalists in 2014. She is the first black female editor of a national newspaper in South Africa.
• Gisela Pérez de Acha teaches cybersecurity for up and coming journalists at UC Berkeley, where she obtained her master’s degree from the Graduate School of Journalism. She is an investigative journalist specialized in forensics and a senior reporter on the extremism beat at the Investigative Reporting Program and a part of an Emmy award-winning team at the New York Times for their reporting of The Siege of Culiacán.

Join this panel discussion during the Knight Center’s 22nd International Symposium on Online Journalism on Wednesday, April 28, 2021. Register now: https://isoj2021.splashthat.com/w