New report reveals 63% of women journalists in Zimbabwe face technology-facilitated GBV
Peter Moyo
A recent report by the Gender and Media Coalition of Zimbabwe (GMC Zimbabwe), supported by UNESCO’s International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC), reveals that 63% of women journalists in Zimbabwe have experienced technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV).
This form of violence, perpetrated and amplified through digital platforms, has a severe impact on the safety, freedom, and professional participation of women in media.
The report defines TFGBV as including “a variety of actions, such as stalking, bullying, sexual harassment, defamation, hate speech, and exploitation,” which extend beyond the digital realm to cause “sexual and psychological harm” offline as well.
According to the report, “Women journalists are driven from online platforms and social media” because of these attacks, leading to self-censorship and silencing for fear of abuse.
UNESCO’s report further highlights the democratic consequences of TFGBV: “Where there are fewer women participating in online platforms, these platforms cease to be representative, negating the internet’s democratic credentials.” Instead of fostering democracy, social media and the internet risk becoming “echo chambers” from which women are excluded due to relentless gendered abuse.
In Zimbabwe, specific instances of online abuse have been documented. The report cites an example from September 2020, where a senior government official’s Twitter account responded to a female reporter derogatorily with “If I respond to this fool, I will trigger her menstrual cycle.” The same reporter faced further gendered attacks, including being called “an embattled marriage wrecker in newsrooms” and a “concubine of a senior ANC leader,” highlighting the overt sexism women journalists endure online.
The report emphasizes that TFGBV leads to “networked misogyny and gaslighting” which severely and disproportionately threatens women journalists, as they sit “at the epicentre of risk.” This kind of abuse includes sexual coercion and extortion, emotional blackmailing, cyber bullying, verbal attacks, and defamation of character.
Patience Zirima, National Director of GMC Zimbabwe, stressed the issue’s urgency: “Barriers have reduced the presence of female journalists in online spaces which negatively impacts their rights to expression and the right to work within the digital space.”
Globally, UNESCO’s research found that 73% of women journalists have been victims of TFGBV, facing threats of physical violence (25%) and sexual violence (18%), along with surveillance, hacking, image-based abuse, and digital security attacks. The research underlines that such attacks not only jeopardize journalists’ safety but also often target those close to them as a means of intimidation.
The GMC Zimbabwe report calls for coordinated national and regional approaches to stem this growing scourge, including stronger legal frameworks, enforcement, practical media-house support, and inclusive policies to protect women journalists online. The African Commission for Human and Peoples’ Rights has also issued a resolution calling on nations to “undertake measures to safeguard women journalists from digital violence.”
This new evidence-based report continues to emphasize that protecting women journalists from technology-facilitated gender-based violence is crucial to safeguarding press freedom, gender equality, and democracy in Zimbabwe and beyond.
