Most female journalists have experienced intimidation, abuse

(HealthDay)—Almost 65 percent of women journalists report having experienced intimidation, threats, or abuse related to their work, according to a report published by the International Women's Media Foundation and the International News Safety Institute (INSI).

The IWMF and INSI surveyed 822 female journalists about intimidation, threats, and abuse in the workplace, including sexual violence, physical violence, sexual harassment, racial harassment, ageism, and digital security threats.

According to results of the survey, 64.48 percent of the journalists reported experiencing some sort of intimidation, threats, or abuse related to their work. Most women who reported being harassed did not report what had occurred, despite the fact that more than half confirmed a psychological impact from the experience. Most threats, intimidation, and abuse occurred in the workplace, and most acts were committed by male bosses, supervisors, and coworkers.

"When we talk about safety for the media, we often think in terms of staying safe in war zones, civil unrest, and environmental disasters, but how often do we think of the office as a hostile environment?" Hannah Storm, director of INSI, said in a statement.