OTTAWA — It’s been difficult to stomach attacks on journalists in the last few months, particularly during contentious events such as the protests outside Parliament in Ottawa, where members of the media were assaulted while covering demonstrations against vaccine mandates.
The Canadian Association of Journalists has condemned the harassment and violence aimed at journalists during the occupation in Ottawa, pointing out that the jobs of journalists are to "responsibly tell stories and cover issues that matter to the public and hold officials and those in power accountable."
Concerns about violence against journalists coincides with data on harassment against scientists who have also spoken publicly on the issue of the pandemic. According to a survey published in Nature, 15 per cent of scientists who spoke about COVID-19 in the United States received death threats. Sixty per cent had their credibility attacked. Another 22 per cent received threats of physical or sexual violence.
These attacks are meant to shut down debate and have the effect of silencing democracy. But when the "expert" is a woman, the effects are compounded. It means that women’s voices in the public square are muzzled and their important contributions to policy are jeopardized.
In Canada, public-health officials who have been the messengers of COVID-19 information for the last two years have had their lives upended by online harassment. Canada’s chief public health officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, has been the target of hateful messages. B.C.’s Bonnie Henry acknowledged she was getting death threats and had to increase security at her home.
In the Northwest Territories, chief public health officer Kami Kandola had threatening messages sent to her. Their male counterparts also were subjected to violent threats, including Saskatchewan’s chief medical health officer, Saqib Shahab, whose Regina home was swarmed by protesters.
When you consider how few women are used as experts in mainstream media (according to one study published in 2015, women are used as sources in news stories less than 30 per cent of the time), the impact of being "trolled" by abusive comments after making a public appearance may have a silencing affect.
Perhaps more importantly, those online messages are being read by other women, including younger women considering future careers. It sends a chilling message to other women.
A Pew Research Centre report published in 2021 suggests one in four Americans had experienced online harassment, and half of those suggested the abuse came as a result of their political views. There is some evidence that women, and in particular racialized women, may be singled out as targets on some media platforms.
While men and women may both experience harassment, there is also evidence that women experience harassment differently than men. The Pew report found that while men may experience harassment online, "women are more likely to be upset about it and think it is a major problem." Women’s harassment online is also more likely to involve sexual harassment and stalking.
In an interview in Tufts Now, Sarah Sobieraj, author of Credible Threat: Attacks Against Women Online and the Future of Democracy, suggests online harassment means that some women "stop speaking out. But many also self-censor in sometimes subtle ways, worrying about where they’re going to post something, what they’re going to write about, how they’re going to write about it."
Sobieraj also suggests the shutting down of women means "We lose their contributions to public discourse. And because the reluctance to weigh in is especially pronounced when the issues women wish to address are volatile, or their views are in the minority, or the conversation is male-dominated, we are losing the very perspectives that stand to most broaden our conversations."
Both men and women who have been targeted are frustrated that online media platforms are slow to respond to complaints about online harassment. The Pew study reports that only 18 per cent feel online companies are doing an adequate job ensuring that online bullying is resolved adequately. Most surveyed believe lifetime bans and forcing the use of real names would be a potential fix for some of the ongoing issues.
Teddy Roosevelt gave a great speech in 1910 in which he suggested it’s easy to belittle and criticize the man and woman "in the arena" who are the "doer of deeds." We need to do more as a society to protect those who are in our public square, our arena, and push media platforms to shut down abusive practices.
These thoughts are part of the 2022 Winter Eakin Lecture: "The Tall Poppy: What happens when women are experts in the media and how we can support them," which I will deliver via Zoom this Friday at noon CT. This event is free, but registration is required. Please go to: https://www.mcgill.ca/misc/channels/event/tall-poppy-2022-winter-eakin-lecture-337780.
Shannon Sampert holds the Eakin Visiting Fellowship in Canadian Studies at McGill University and is the former politics and perspectives editor of the Winnipeg Free Press.
"discourse" - Google News
March 10, 2022 at 03:01PM
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Online abuse limits public discourse - The Brandon Sun
"discourse" - Google News
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