For ALL Women and Girls: Sushmita S. Preetha on elevating and protecting women journalists

In a global survey of 714 women journalists published by UNESCO, 73 per cent report experiencing online violence; 25 per cent have received threats of physical violence; and 13 per cent have received threats against those close to them, including their children.

Gender-based violence against women journalists, from intimidating private messages to physical attacks, leads to countless stories left untold, and promising careers cut short.

At a major women’s rights meeting in Bangkok in November 2024 – held to discuss the progress of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action – Sushmita S. Preetha of Bangladesh joined women journalists from around the Asia Pacific region to read out a manifesto: “We call for ensuring both online and offline safety and security of women journalists and journalists from gender-diverse communities – while fostering enabling, gender-inclusive workplaces.”

It is time to dismantle the gender inequality that threatens the safety and livelihoods of women journalists. And as Preetha explains, no one is better fit to tell the stories of this feminist resistance than women themselves.

Reflecting on her start in journalism, Preetha says, “I saw feminist storytelling as a form of resistance. Whose story gets told, and whose gets erased, has always been deeply political.”

Gender-sensitive journalism connects violence against women to the broader systems that allow it to continue, Preetha explains. “It’s about recognizing that the slow, grinding violences woven into the fabric of everyday life and the quiet, often invisible acts of resistance against them, are just as deserving of attention, analysis, and outrage as the headline-grabbing spectacles that dominate our news cycles.”

While it’s the cause of truth-telling that draws many women to careers in media, research by UN Women in Southeast Asia found that women journalists are at greater risk of online harm as a direct result of their civic engagement.

These digital attacks aim to discredit women journalists and to silence them – just as gender inequality across the world makes their voices that much more critical.

“For women journalists, digital harassment is not just trolling – it’s a structural violence designed to push us out of public life,” says Preetha. And as the media landscape shifts to social media, harassment is more easily amplified.

She calls for urgent changes: accountability from tech platforms, institutional safety mechanisms in newsrooms, and solidarity networks to protect dissent.

If media organizations are serious about supporting women, adds Preetha, they must offer “contracts that protect them.” That includes salaries that value their labour, legal and psychological support when they face harassment, and newsroom cultures that do not punish them for being outspoken. They can also empower women in the workplace with flexible scheduling and day care-centres.

Preetha and other journalists drafted the “Asia-Pacific Feminist Media Manifesto” while reflecting on the Beijing Declaration and “women and the media,” one of its key areas for urgent action. They plan to present and expand on their manifesto moving forward.

For Preetha, journalism has always been about giving voice. “Growing up, I saw how official narratives silence certain people – workers, women, Indigenous communities, dissenters,” she says. “Journalism, for me, became a way to push back against that silence.”