Press Release
☷Joint Statement Through the Global Partnership for Action on Gender Based Online Harassment and Abuse on World Press Freedom Day United States Department of State
U.S. Department of State ( By Press Release office)
May 03,2022
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The text of the following statement was released by the Governments of the United States of America , Australia , Denmark , Republic of Korea , Sweden , and the United Kingdom . Begin Text:Today , on World Press Freedom Day 2022 , the undersigned foreign ministers for country members of the Global Partnership for Action on Gender - Based Online Harassment and Abuse call attention to the pressing need for enhanced safety of women journalists and media workers . Women in journalism are disproportionately impacted by threats and attacks , which are more often gendered and sexualized than threats against their male counterparts and increasingly take place online . Many women journalists face multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination and sexual and gender - based violence , including on the basis of other characteristics , including race , religion , ethnicity , disability , sexual orientation , or gender identity . The latest study from 2020 ( UNESCO ) shows that almost 75 percent of women journalists worldwide have experienced online violence . Social media is a critical avenue for journalists and media organizations to engage their audiences , but it is also a vector of online harms . Furthermore , the escalation of technology - facilitated gender - based violence is of urgent concern and forms a serious threat to an inclusive and diverse media landscape . It is a risk to media pluralism and democracy . Online threats to women journalists and media workers can lead to self - censorship and disengagement from the digital public square , undermining their ability to exercise their human rights and enjoy freedom of expression , compounding the forms of violence they face offline . All people – including women – should be able to speak out without fear of harassment , discrimination , or violence . There is also in many places a culture of impunity surrounding online attacks on women journalists and media workers , which perpetuates the cycle of gender - based violence . Today , we call upon all states , media companies , workplaces , technology platforms and civil society groups to speak out against technology - facilitated gender - based violence , to prevent and address all forms of violence against women journalists and media workers , both online and offline , and defend their ability to practice journalism freely and safely . Co - signatories:Australia Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Women , Senator the Hon Marise Payne;Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs , Mr . Jeppe Kofod;Republic of Korea Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr . Chung Eui - yong;Sweden Minister for Foreign Affairs , Ms . Ann Linde;United Kingdom’s Secretary of State for Foreign , Commonwealth and Development Affairs and Minister for Women and Equalities , Rt Hon Liz Truss;United States Secretary of State , Antony J . Blinken .
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