Canada: CFWIJ Extremely Concerned About Growing Hostility Towards Women Journalists On Online Spaces
Location: Canada, Ottawa
Date: February 7, 2022
At least three women journalists, including Marsha Lederman and Melissa Martin were targeted with a vile, hateful online campaign. The journalists took to twitter to reveal the abuse and threat they have been consistently receiving. It is not apparent what led to the attacks against their person, in particular. However, it is no surprise that the digital space has become hostile towards women journalists right after right wing politician Maxime Bernier tweeted a provocative message targeting the Canadian press community. A move that has historically led to journalists receiving hateful backlash from his support base.
Marsha faced a deeply anti-semitic message, denying her religious identity in response to her tweet about the fear her family feels for being associated with Judaism. The attack on Melissa was entirely unprovoked while she was reporting on her beat. Both of them shared the vile they face on their social media accounts. A third journalist who wishes to remain anonymous is also confronting harassment campaigns online as well as on ground for reporting on racially charged incidents that took place in Ottawa.
Of all the sh*t I’ve had to put up with, this tweet wins. My parents were Holocaust survivors. My grandparents were murdered at Treblinka in the gas chamber along with three of their children. Hope you can sleep tonight, “Alex.” https://t.co/x8ADupvPKb
— Marsha Lederman (@marshalederman) February 6, 2022
i continue to love being a person who has to work on this website https://t.co/QRAEseMOpP
— Melissa Martin (@DoubleEmMartin) February 5, 2022
There is significant correlation between Maxime Bernier’s provocative tweets against journalists and hostile campaigns towards women in the press community. Last year, a similar act by the politician led to over 20 women journalists being targeted through an organized hate campaign. They came forward, sharing screenshots of the abuse they received as a result of Bernier unjustifiably instigating his support base against the press. The journalists work for different organizations and cover different beats, and have been solely targeted with vile racist and sexist rhetoric.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism extends its complete support to the women journalists currently being targeted in the country. We condemn the actions of Maxime Bernier whose reckless and insensitive tweets led to the entire press community feeling vulnerable to hate and threats.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism is a global organization of support for women journalists. The CFWIJ pioneered mentorship for mid-career women journalists across several countries around the world and is the first organization to focus on the status of free press for women journalists. We thoroughly document cases of any form of abuse against women in any part of the globe. Our system of individuals and organizations brings together the experience and mentorship necessary to help female career journalists navigate the industry. Our goal is to help develop a strong mechanism where women journalists can work safely and thrive.
If you have been harassed or abused in any way, and please report the incident by using the following form.
