“Steps for Newsroom to Take in the First 24 Hours Following an Online Attack against a Woman Journalist”: guidelines with an algorithm for the newsrooms

NGO Women in Media has prepared guidelines titled: “Steps for Newsroom to Take in the First 24 Hours Following an Online Attack against a Woman Journalist”. The generalized guide is based on the practices of the following organizations: UNESCO (The Chilling), Coalition Against Online Violence, PEN America, Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma, IWMF.

Women in the media are disproportionately more likely to experience gender-based online violence — manifestations that demean their appearance, emotionality, sexualize them, and undermine their professionalism. An online attack may have a detrimental impact on a journalist’s mental wellbeing, physical safety, professional reputation, and willingness to continue her work. The newsroom’s actions in the first 24 hours are critical to stabilize the situation, prevent escalation, and rebuild confidence.

Guidelines focusing on following:

1. Recognizing the attack and supporting the journalist.
2. Assessing the level of the threat.
3. Providing basic cyber protection.
4. Providing access to psychological support.
5. Documenting the attack
6. Engaging a lawyer
7. Determining whether to respond publicly.
8. Informing the entire editorial team.

The document outlines types of threats, manipulation, and disinformation; it also includes contact information for support services and action algorithms. An attack on a journalist is an attack on the entire newsroom, so the main task of the media is to support and protect their colleague.

If you would like to receive a printed copy of the guidelines, please fill out the Google Form at the link.

We would like to remind you that the NGO Women in Media has launched documentation of cases of online violence against Ukrainian female journalists due to their professional activities. Thanks to an interactive map, you can track and analyze such attacks, helping to reveal the scale of the problem and contribute to overcoming it.

The guide has been prepared as part of the initiative “Strengthening the Resilience of Women Journalists in Ukraine: Countering Online Violence and Gendered Disinformation,” implemented by the Women in Media NGO with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands.