#RatifyC190 to respond to the threats of being a woman and a journalist

Sofia Branco is the President of the Council of ethics of the Union of the Portuguese Union of Journalists (SDJ). She points out the dangers of being a woman and working as a journalist and how ILO Convention 190 is necessary to help eradicate online violence.

Women journalists face the same violence other women do. In Portugal, it means living in a country with the highest scores of domestic violence and physical sexual violence against women (the second in Europe).

But being a woman and a journalist often means facing a double risk: the dangers attached to the profession and the risks of being exposed to gender or sexual violence.

Due to public exposure, the internet has become a dangerous place for journalists in general and for women journalists in particular.

Though there is a lack of scientific data on the subject, the cases of women humiliated, harassed, and threatened in virtual spaces are becoming more and more common. Therefore, the fact that ILO Convention C190 includes online violence is very relevant.

But there are other forms of violence and women journalists in Portugal also face the most obvious and structural one: economic violence. Women work longer hours than men but earn approximately 80 euros less per month, and occupy only 37% of leadership positions. 

Sofia Branco

SDJ

Find out more about ILO Convention 190 on violence and harassment in the world of work and how you can get involved by checking the IFJ campaign page

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