Byte back - against online abuse!

The virtual world mirrors the ‘real’ world, where women journalists are harassed, excluded and subjected to abuse for their work. Online abuse – a form of gender discrimination and violence against women – must be prevented to enable women to confidently express themselves in the digital space without repercussions.

The IFJ-led campaign launched in Asia Pacific, involving unions and press freedom organisations, calls for strong action to stop cyber-bullying and online harassment of women journalists. Journalists of all genders; their unions; media houses; moderators of social media platforms; the public and governments must take firm steps towards ensuring women’s rightful place in the digital world, without harassment, abuse and cyber-violence. Only then can a diversity of information, analysis and opinion co-exist and contribute to building healthy and vibrant democracies in the Asia Pacific.

We need you to create national discussions and to help achieve the campaign goals to:

  • Raise awareness on online harassment of women journalists in Asia-Pacific;
  • Engage men and women journalists to join in solidarity in a social media campaign against online abuse of women journalists in our region;
  • Advocate with media houses to sign on to a draft IFJ social media policy to take action against trolls;
  • Call on the public to expose and tackle trolling and harassment as a critical press freedom violation.

How can you take part?: