European Federation of Journalists

European Federation of Journalists

EFJ calls for action to tackle harassment of female journalists


“We must support our female colleagues, defend them and make their voices heard. Harassment and abuses targeting at female journalists shall not be tolerated,” said Mogens Blicher Bjerregård, the EFJ President after the OSCE meeting on online abuses of female journalists on 17 November in Vienna.

The conference has gathered international experts in the field to help increase understanding and gravity of the issue  involved best practices and possible solutions to tackle the mounting number of online threats targeting female journalists.

During the meeting, experts and journalists spoke about the gravity of the issue and called for urgent action to tackle the problem of harassment facing female journalists in both online or offline environment.

“It was a wake-up call for us all,” Blicher Bjerregård said, “Journalists’ organisations must do more to promote open discussion in the newsroom on harassment to ensure that both staff and freelance journalists can receive support. ”

“We must stand up for our colleagues and make sure that media bosses defend them and that our union leaders take this problem seriously. The perpetrators must be brought to justice in order to to prevent future abuses,” added Blicher Bjerregård.

In the next EFJ Steering Committee meeting, the issue will be discussed.

 

Picture: OSCE