Voices heard but repressed: RSF’s new report “Journalism in The #MeToo Era” calls for increased support for journalists covering gender violence and women’s rights
Seven years after an international wave of public debate was triggered by the first journalistic investigation into the Weinstein affair in the United States, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has released a new report: “Journalism in the #MeToo Era.” This movement to empower women’s voices — which has acquired many different slogans in numerous countries — spurred the creation of new media outlets, revisions to newsroom policies, and the development of new journalist networks. Yet investigating women's rights remains dangerous. To accompany the report, RSF has published recommendations to support journalists working on women's rights and gender violence.
It cannot be denied: this worldwide movement to liberate women's voices has significantly impacted the media landscape. Out of the 113 journalists surveyed in nearly the same number of countries, over 80% noted a significant increase in the number of stories covering women's rights, gender issues, and gender-based violence since 2017, when the #MeToo slogan was born in the United States. The slogan has since been translated into many languages and taken different names, at least 40 of which have been catalogued by RSF, such as #EuTambém in Brazil, #EnaZeda in Tunisia, #Cuéntalo in Spain, and #WoYeShi in China.
However, while investigations into women's rights and gender-based violence appear to be taken more seriously, RSF is alarmed by the continued violent repression of the journalists who cover these issues, which includes cyber-harassment, physical attacks, and, in some countries, the risk of detention and even death. Over 25% of the survey’s respondents considered it dangerous to work on these subjects.
RSF therefore calls for the adoption and reinforcement of measures to protect and guarantee independent information on gender-based violence and women's rights, freeing journalists of any fear of repercussions. RSF’s 16 recommendations include: criminalising certain forms of cyber harassment, holding social media platforms accountable for preventing and combating these attacks, and recruiting editorial managers responsible for gender issues.
"Even if the #MeToo wave only had a weak echo in some countries, it has led to the emergence of new stories and new media outlets worldwide. While some pioneers had already paved the way — including Awa in Senegal in the 1970s, Sharika Wa Laken in Lebanon since 2012, and Axelle magazine, created in Belgium in 1998 — they have, in turn, benefited from this new exposure. In addition to progress in newsrooms, RSF found that the movement spurred overall improvement in journalistic practices and the creation of many journalist networks. However, despite all this progress, journalists specialising in women's rights and gender violence are still prime targets of attacks ranging from cyber-harassment campaigns to murder. These abuses must stop. To achieve this, RSF has issued recommendations for governments, police, judicial authorities, social media platforms and newsrooms, to ensure the right to information on women's rights and gender violence is truly guaranteed.
Key facts from the report:
1. Over 40 hashtags empowering women’s voices gained media attention around the world
In nearly two-thirds of the 112 countries represented in the report, a movement to promote discourse on women's rights, gender issues and/or gender-based violence emerged under the slogan #MeToo or a related term (according to 72 of the 113 people surveyed, i.e. 64%). In Russia, media coverage on these topics has grown under #яНеБоюсьСказать (“I'm not afraid to speak”), created in Ukraine. In Morocco, it takes the form of #Masaktach (“I won't be silent”). Other countries have transformed the slogan into more specific demands, such as يزاوج نودب ةياصو (“My passport without guardianship”) in Yemen and #DontTellMeHowToDress in Thailand.
2. Out of the 113 journalists surveyed in 112 countries, over 80% have seen an increase in coverage of women's rights, gender issues, and gender-based violence since 2017
Certain reports were particularly influential to this movement, exemplified by the New York Times' investigation into the Weinstein affair, which provoked the #MeToo movement in the United States. In South Korea, the local #MeToo was triggered by media coverage of prosecutor Seo Ji-hyeon's 2018 revelation on television that she had been assaulted by her superior. That same year, Brazil’s largest television channel TV Globo aired a controversial investigation revealing that the famous psychic Joao de Deus sexually assaulted several hundred women.
3. New media outlets specialising in gender issues emerged and investigations on the subject began making headlines
Across the globe, a wave of media outlets highlighting women's rights and gender issues cropped up, including Bilan in Somalia, La Déferlante in France, and Jeem, a Lebanese outlet disseminated throughout the Arab world. Many of these outlets operated solely on social media. They followed in the footsteps of older, pioneering media that have benefitted from renewed visibility since 2017, such as Axelle magazine in Belgium, AzMina in Brazil and Sharika Wa Laken in Lebanon. Generalist media outlets are also more inclined to take violence against women out of miscellaneous news sections, give it cross-sectional coverage and put investigations on the front page.
4. The role of “gender editor” was created
The New York Times was ground zero for both the #MeToo movement and the position of "gender editor”, designating journalist Jessica Bennett as the first editor responsible for ensuring that women and gender minorities were properly represented. According to RSF’s report, 27% of respondents were aware of at least one new position for a gender editor in their country. The presence of these specialists in newsrooms has improved media coverage of these issues: ethical charters have been drawn up to ensure that gender issues are taken into account within the media outlet, both in terms of internal processes and news coverage.
5. For 27% of respondents, it is dangerous for journalists to cover women's rights, gender issues and/or gender-based violence.
The persecution of journalists and media outlets covering these issues continues, forcing some journalists to self-censor or go into exile. Others are imprisoned, like Huang Xueqin, the instigator of #WoYeShi, the Chinese #MeToo. In some places, retaliation can mean murder: several journalists covering gender-based violence have been killed in Iraq Kurdistan, Afghanistan, and Mexico, among other countries.
6. Nearly 60% of respondents know of at least one case of a journalist who was cyber-harassed due to their coverage of women's rights, gender issues and/or gender-based violence.
Editor-in-chief of the Chilean newspaper El Ciudadano, Josefa Barraza Díaz, has been harassed on social media ever since she exposed “La Manada,” a group of military officers under investigation for sexual assault. Turkish journalist Hale Gönültaş received death threats for covering the plight of the Yezidi minority — especially women — persecuted by ISIS, as did Kiki Mordi after the publication of her investigation “Sex for Grades” in Nigeria. French journalist Salomé Saqué, meanwhile, was the victim of pornographic deepfakes as retaliation for her work.
7. Repression is dangerously fierce in authoritarian regimes
Although this feminist spring galvanized many countries, numerous journalists have felt its repercussions, particularly those subject to authoritarian regimes. In Russia, exile is sometimes the only recourse. In Afghanistan, women journalists have been erased from the media landscape or forced into exile since the Taliban’s return to power. In Iran, the journalists who covered the death of the young Mahsa Amini and the Jin, Jiyan, Azadî (“Woman, Life, Freedom”) movement in September 2022 have been imprisoned or threatened with imprisonment.
8. RSF's 16 recommendations can tangibly support journalists working on women's rights and gender violence
RSF has made 16 recommendations to governments, police, judicial authorities, social media platforms and newsrooms to ensure that journalists working on women's rights, gender issues and/or gender-based violence are fully protected.
This report was written by RSF in partnership with French journalist Laurène Daycard, who specialises in women's rights and gender violence. The report includes contributions from journalists Bettie Johnson Mbayo (Liberia), Kiki Mordi (Nigeria), Mariana Iglesias (Argentina), Ghazal Golshiri (France-Iran), Zahra Nader (Afghanistan), Hinda Abdi Mohamoud (Somalia), Marie Barbier (France), Jessica Lopez (France), Julie Bianchin (Switzerland), Jovanna Mariám Garcon (Guatemala), and others.
