11 May 2021 - Glenda Daniels The online attacks on women journalists are bound to populist politics, disinformation and intersectional discrimination, says Unesco. The report, The Chilling: Global Trends in Online Violence against Women Journalists, and themed “Information as a Public Good”, is ground-breaking because of its size and scope. It records 73% of the women surveyed as having experienced online violence (including death and rape threats). Twenty percent of women journalists said they withdrew from social media interaction because of the threats and vilification from being called “witch”, “hag”, “whore”, “bitch”, and “presstitute” (“press” plus “prostitute”). A team of 23 international researchers from 16 countries, led by Julie Posetti (global research director), Nabeelah Shabbir, Diana Maynard, Kalina Bontcheva and Nermine Aboulez wrote the 94-page report. (Disclosure: I led the Africa region research and the full book on the international study will be published in June 2021.)