The NGO Women in Media has produced the official Ukrainian translation of an important international document — “The Chilling: A Global Study of Online Violence Against Women Journalists. Response Recommendations, including an Online Violence Response Assessment Tool.”
These recommendations, developed based on extensive research by Julie Posetti and Kalina Bontcheva, are now available on the official UNESCO website, alongside versions in English, French, Spanish, Arabic, and Chinese.
The document contains cross-cutting recommendations for governments, digital platforms, newsrooms, media organizations, and civil society to systematically address online violence — particularly gender-based attacks — against women journalists. Key recommendations include:
- Recognizing that online violence is real, as are the psychological harms it causes.
- Avoiding victim-blaming and not placing the responsibility for addressing or responding to online abuse on the journalists themselves.
- Holding internet companies accountable for taking action against threats, harassment, and abuse.
- Promoting international cooperation and knowledge-sharing among states, platforms, and media outlets.
- Supporting joint initiatives by civil society, media networks, and researchers.
- Ensuring independent research that reflects the dynamic nature and scale of online violence.
- Taking into account intersectional threats such as racism, homophobia, religious intolerance, and other forms of discrimination in policy development.
- Enabling women journalists to seek support from platforms and law enforcement, while prioritizing preventative and protective responses that do not burden victims.
- Developing effective response mechanisms that comply with international human rights standards.
The Ukrainian translation of these recommendations marks an important step toward strengthening the protection of women working in media who are targeted with online attacks because of their professional activities. It also enables Ukrainian stakeholders to contribute to implementing comprehensive solutions in line with global best practices.
As a reminder, Women in Media has created an online map to document cases of online violence against Ukrainian journalists due to their professional activities. If you have experienced or witnessed such an attack, you can report it and receive the necessary support by filling out a brief questionnaire on the Women in Media website.