International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women: RSF calls on European governments to mobilise against cyberharassment targeting women journalists
Many women journalists worldwide are victims of online harassment, especially those reporting on gender issues or sexual and gender-based violence. These repeated and often anonymous attacks aim to discredit, intimidate, and force them to abandon their work. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls on the Member States of the European Union to swiftly implement a recently adopted Directive that acknowledges the specific nature of these crimes and requires them to adapt their criminal law accordingly .
“Cyberharassment has a significant impact on my work as a journalist,” testifies French journalist Salomé Saqué in RSF's latest report, Journalism in the MeToo Era. “I factor this risk into my practice. There are certain topics I avoid covering at specific times because I don’t have the strength to deal with the fallout.” A stark reminder of this risk is the case of investigative journalist Emilia Șercan. One month after exposing that Romania’s then-Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă had plagiarised his doctoral thesis, she discovered that five of her personal photos had been stolen and leaked on 31 porn websites.
In March 2022, the European Commission introduced a Directive proposal addressing violence against women and domestic violence in general. Adopted last May (EU Directive 2024/1385 of the European Parliament and of the Council of May 14, 2024 on combating violence against women and domestic violence), it criminalises cyberharassment against women across Europe and provides for a minimum harmonisation of penalties (ranging from one to five years of imprisonment).
“As highlighted in the ‘Journalism in the MeToo Era’ report from RSF, women journalists worldwide are particularly targeted by various forms of cyberharassment. The insults, threats, and AI-generated defamatory content they face have one common purpose, which is to silence them. This issue transcends borders and should be a matter of concern for everyone - not just for the women who are targeted. It represents a direct threat to everyone’s right to information. That is why RSF welcomes the adoption of this EU directive which recognizes that online harassment targeting women journalists raises a particularly serious threat. We urge Member States to implement the necessary measures immediately, well ahead of the 2027 transposition deadline, to put an end to the impunity surrounding cyberviolence against European women journalists.”
Article 11 of this EU Directive acknowledges there is a higher threshold of harm when cyberviolence is directed at specific categories of women, such as female journalists. In other terms, the fact that the victim of cyberharassment — including the non-consensual sharing of intimate or manipulated material ("revenge porn") — is a woman journalist is deemed an aggravating factor that should warrant harsher penalties.
A Call to Action for EU Member States
The Directive requires EU member states to align their national criminal law with this provision. This is essential to uphold the rights of victims and the right to information. To combat the impunity enabled by digital anonymity and prevent self-censorship, it is crucial to take firm action against those who deliberately attack journalism as a whole.
