#Don't Troll: Stop Trolling Women Journalists.

25 November is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and girls. This year the IFJ will denounce online trolling/harassment and its effects on women journalists. While online harassment occurs to many journalists who are active online, it tends to become an increasingly pervasive problem for women who tend to receive more abuse because they are women. An IFJ survey conducted in 2017 shows that almost one in two women journalists (43%) have experienced online abuse.

This results in particular in a lot of abusive sexual comments and sexual threats. The effect of online trolling can seriously impact a journalist's well being and career. Negative effects include anxiety, stress, self-censorship and even abandon of the profession.