Police urged to do more to protect women in journalism from online threats and harassment

More than 100 media leaders and journalists have joined forces today, on International Women's Day, to call for online threats and harassment of women working in journalism to be taken more seriously by police. Editors, columnists, reporters and lecturers are among those to have signed a letter to police leaders and Government ministers.

The letter was penned by non-profit organisations Women in Journalism, Reporters Without Borders and Reach plc, which publishes DevonLive along with more than 120 other news titles, following publication of research which demonstrated the devastating impact online threats and abuse can have on women working in journalism. Reach's audience and content director for the South West region Edd Moore, who was also a member of the Violence Against Women and Girls Commission for Plymouth, is among those to have put their names to the letter.

Research shows around three quarters of women in journalism in the UK have faced online harm such as threats, sexual violence, stalking and harassment. The impacts of online violence highlighted by the research, which was published by Women in Journalism and Reach last year, included significant mental health impacts and suicidal thoughts as well as women choosing to move away from public-facing work or leave journalism altogether.

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The letter calls for a change to police response to online violence, stating: “The chilling effect of online violence - likely to get worse as we head towards elections - stifles press freedom and creates spaces for disinformation to thrive; it also risks making journalism less diverse at a time it needs more than ever to be representative.”

It goes on to call for police to improve the recording of crimes against journalists by clearly recording when attacks are related to a journalist’s work. It also requests that police report the crime figures back to the government in order to use the data to take further action, such as holding social media platforms to account.

Today’s letter comes following an investigation conducted earlier this year which uncovered worrying inconsistency in the way police record online crimes reported by journalists. Freedom of Information requests were submitted to seven police forces in England and Wales known to have handled reports of online threats or harassment targeting journalists since January 2022. Of the requests, five were rejected on the basis that it would take too long and cost too much to check, because the fact the victim was a journalist had been recorded in a variety of ways - even though the crime was tied to their occupation. A sixth request was not returned within the timeframe, and a seventh found no record of crimes reported by journalists.

The investigation highlights that while some forces may note the occupation of a victim of online crime if it is connected to the crime they are reporting, there is no consistent approach, meaning the data cannot be reported back to forces or to the government. As a result there is no formal record of crimes conducted against journalists in connection to their work, despite evidence from industry that such crimes are regular and increasing.

Dr Rebecca Whittington, Online Safety Editor for Reach and committee member for Women in Journalism, said: “We know from research that women in journalism are suffering in their professional and personal lives due to online harassment and often sexually violent threats. We also know online threats happen regularly and that the outcomes can be serious, but the response can be inconsistent and without reliable data we cannot hold those responsible to account.

“For too long women in journalism and media have been subjected to unacceptable online harm, we have to work with police to break this cycle and make our industry safer for women now and in the future.”

The letter was sent to national police leads on the Committee for the Safety of Journalists, Chief Superintendent Sam Donaldson for Police Northern Ireland, Superintendent Joanne McEwan for Police Scotland and Chief Constable Pippa Mills for police in England and Wales.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Secretary of State Lucy Frazer KC MP, along with ministers on the National Committee for the Safety of Journalists, Laura Farris MP, Minister for Victims and Safeguarding, Home Office and Julia Lopez MP, Minister for Media, Data and Digital Infrastructure, DCMS, also received a copy of the letter.

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Stop the cycle: Working with police to keep women journalists safe online

Dear Chief Constable Pippa Mills, Chief Superintendent Sam Donaldson and Superintendent Joanne McEwan,

Violence against women working in journalism in the UK has increased significantly over the past decade, much of it conducted online. While all journalists may be subject to online abuse, women are far more likely to experience gendered attacks: recent research showed that three-quarters of women working in the UK journalism and media industries had experienced rape or death threats, harassment, stalking, misogyny or sexual approaches online in connection to their work.

We are deeply concerned about the impact of online violence on media freedom and diversity. Research conducted by the UK’s largest commercial publisher Reach Plc and Women in Journalism (1) found women were leaving front-line jobs in journalism and minimising their online profiles in order to avoid online violence against them. There is also compelling evidence (2) to show that women of colour, women who openly share their faith, LGBTQ+ women, women with disabilities, and women from working class backgrounds are significantly more likely to experience violence and hate online. The chilling effect of online violence - likely to get worse as we head towards elections - stifles press freedom and creates spaces for disinformation to thrive; it also risks making journalism less diverse at a time it needs more than ever to be representative.

We are also worried about the impact on individuals. Women journalists who experience serious online violence, such as stalking, death or rape threats, or receiving unsolicited pornographic content from anonymous accounts, report long-term impacts on their professional and personal lives, including depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts and post-traumatic stress disorder. There is a growing awareness of the link between online and physical violence; fear that online attacks may lead to ‘real-life’ attacks is palpable among those who experience violence online.

Yet despite the rise in online violence, there are worrying inconsistencies in the way police handle, record and respond to online crimes against women journalists nationwide. Women journalists reporting online crimes to police often feel their case is quickly dismissed, or that their fears are perceived as an overreaction – a fact which adds to their trauma and makes it all the more likely they will leave the profession.

We need to stop this cycle. The cycle of women feeling unsafe in their work. The cycle of women feeling unheard. We need to secure a safer future for women working in journalism in the UK.

So today, on International Women’s Day, we come together to ask you - as police representatives charged with working on the safety of journalists - to work with us for change. We have four simple asks which could make a world of difference to our industry both now and in the future:

• Improve the recording of crimes against journalists. Accurate reporting - including clearly recording when attacks are related to a journalist’s work - is essential if we are to understand the scale of the problem, formulate effective responses and hold social media platforms to account.

• Provide national-level guidance for police on online violence against journalists, and training on the gendered nature of online violence, the connections between online and physical violence, and best practice in dealing with such crimes.

• Report back to government. As police representatives on the National Committee for the Safety of Journalists, we call on you to regularly report back figures of crimes against journalists to the Committee.

• Improve dialogue between police and industry. Police forces should establish direct and effective channels of communication with journalists and representative bodies to ensure attacks can be quickly reported and effectively dealt with and perpetrators held to account.

Today, we as journalists and media leaders join Reporters Without Borders UK, Women in Journalism and Reach Plc to ask you to do everything you can to break the cycle of abuse that risks sidelining women from journalism. Let’s work together to break the cycle and secure a safer future for women working in journalism.

Signatories

Alex Crawford Foreign Correspondent, Sky News

Alex Stepney Policy and External Affairs Director, News UK

Alison Gow Media Consultant

Alison Phillips Journalist

Andrew Colley Regional Editor, Newsquest Cumbria

Anna Highfield Senior News Reporter, Architects' Journal

Anthony Baxter Deputy Managing Editor, LBC Newsgathering

Antonella Mulè Chief Strategy and Corporate Development Officer, Reach Plc

Anu Anand Journalist

Bénédicte Paviot France 24 ́s UK Correspondent

Carole Cadwalladr Journalist, The Guardian and The Observer

Caroline Waterston Editor, Mirror

Catherine Philp World Affairs Editor, The Times

Cathy Newman Presenter, Channel 4 News

Chris Evans Editor, The Telegraph

Christina Lamb Chief Foreign Correspondent, Sunday Times

Clothilde Redfern Director, Rory Peck Trust

Colin Hume Head of Learning & Development, National World

Daisy Wyatt Associate Editor, The Daily Express

Daniel Gorman Director, English PEN

David Dick Editor In Chief (Scotland), Reach Plc

David Higgerson Chief Digital Publisher, Reach Plc

Dawn Alford Executive Director, Society of Editors

Deborah Bonetti Director, Foreign Press Association in London

Dhruti Shah Freelance journalist

Dominic Ponsford Editor-in-Chief, Press Gazette

Donna Ferguson Freelance Journalist

Donna-Louise Bishop Specialist Reporter, Newsquest

Dr Maja Šimunjak Senior Lecturer in Journalism

Dylan Jones Editor-In-Chief, Evening Standard

Edd Moore Audience and Content Director, South West, Reach plc

Eoin Brannigan Editor-in-Chief, Belfast Telegraph and Sunday Life

Fiona O'Brien UK Director, Reporters Without Borders

Fleur Launspach UK Correspondent Dutch national news NOS

Gary Jones Editor, Daily Express and Sunday Express

Gavin Foster Editor, Northern Echo

Gavin Thompson Regional Editor, Newsquest Wales

Gemma Aldridge Editor, Sunday Mirror and The People

Graeme Brown Editor, Birmingham Mail and BirminghamLive

Hanna Geissler Health Editor, Daily Express

Hannah Storm Media Safety Consultant and Co-Director, Headlines Network

Helen Dalby Audience and Content Director, Reach

Hilly Janes Associate Lecturer, Media School, London College of Communication

James Brindle Chief Executive Officer, The Journalists’ Charity

James Evelegh Editor, InPublishing

James Harding Editor and Founder, Tortoise Media

Jenny Kean Writer and Researcher

Jessica Ní Mhainín Policy and Campaigns Manager, Index on Censorship

Jodie Ginsberg CEO, Committee to Protect Journalists

John Crowley Editor, Financial Times

John Wilson Editor, Hereford Times, Newsquest

Jonathan Paterson Managing Director, The News Movement

Joy Yates Regional Editor, Newsquest Cumbria

Julie Etchingham Anchor, ITV News at Ten

Karin Goodwin Co-editor and Journalist, The Ferret

Karyn Fleeting Delivery Director, Reach Plc

Katharine Viner Editor in Chief, Guardian News & Media

Katie French Regional Editor, Newsquest

Leona O’Neill Journalist

Liam Fisher Head of talkSPORT

Lindsey Hilsum International Editor, Channel 4 News

Lisa Bradley Deputy Head of Journalism, University of Sheffield

Liz Green Journalist, Broadcaster

Liz Nice Editor

Marcela Kunova Editor, Journalism.co.uk

Maria Boyle Luxury travel writer and PR director

Maria Breslin Editor, Liverpool Echo

Marianna Spring Disinformation and Social Media Correspondent, BBC

Martin Little Audience Transformation Director, Reach Plc

Mary Nightingale Presenter, ITV Evening News

Michael Adkins Senior Editor, Newsquest

Michela Wrong Journalist and Author

Michelle Stanistreet NUJ General Secretary

Natalie Fahy Editor, Nottinghamshire Live

Nic Keaney Managing Editor

Owen Meredith CEO, News Media Association

Patricia Devlin Investigative Journalist

Patrick Ward Print ACE

Paul Caruana Galizia Reporter, Tortoise Media

Paul Linford Publisher, HoldtheFrontPage

Paul Webster Editor, The Observer

Professor Julie Posetti Global Director of Research, International Center for Journalists;

Professor of Journalism, City, University of London.

Rachel Corp CEO for ITN and Chair of Women in Journalism

Rana Rahimpour Freelance Iranian-British Journalist

Rebecca Whittington Online Safety Editor, Reach Plc

Richard Duggan Regional Editor North West, Newsquest

Richard Porritt Regional Editor, Newsquest

Richard Reeves CEO, AOP (Association of Online Publishers)

Richard Wallace Head of TV, News UK

Robert Peston Journalist

Rodney Edwards Editor, The Impartial Reporter

Ruth Hardy-Mullings Head of Content

Sangita Myska Journalist & LBC Radio Presenter

Sarah Collins Editor at talkSPORT

Sarah Lester Editor, Manchester Evening News

Sarah Macdonald Founder/Director Make Waves Ltd

Sharmeen Ziauddin Editor in Chief, She Speaks We Hear

Sheena McStravick Editor, Belfast Live

Simon Murfitt Senior Editor, Newsquest London

Simon Pitts Chief Executive, STV

Sonya Thomas Freelance Journalist and Writer

Sophia Smith Galer Freelance Journalist and Content Creator

Steffan Rhys Editor, WalesOnline

Tim Lethaby Regional Editor, Newsquest South West

Tim Levell Programme Director, Times Radio

Toby Granville Editorial Development Director, Newsquest

Tony Gallagher Editor, The Times

Victoria Macdonald Health and Social Care Editor

Victoria Newton Editor-in-Chief, The Sun

Wayne Ankers Editor, YorkshireLive

Yasmin Alibhai-Brown Journalist, Columnist, Author