Northern Ireland: Online Troll Threatens Journalist Suzanne Breen, Minor Daughter
Location: Northern Ireland
Date: February 7, 2022
Suzanne Breen, Belfast Telegraph’s senior journalist, was targeted by vile online abuse after sharing her ten-year-old daughter’s picture on her social media account. The journalist was viciously threatened with offensive messages following her post about her daughter’s transfer test results on February 6, 2022. The Coalition For Women In Journalism (CFWIJ) is utterly dismayed by the vicious threats that Suzanne had to face. We urge Northern Ireland security authorities to conduct a swift investigation and find the perpetrators immediately.
Suzanne Breen, Belfast Telegraph’s political editor, was targeted with vile, misogynist, and offensive messages after sharing her ten-year-old daughter’s picture to greet her daughter’s success about the transfer test she passed last weekend. An unidentified account threatened the journalist with abusive messages to rape her daughter. Following the online attacks, Suzanne reported and lodged a criminal complaint to the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) about the abusive messages.
The journalist took to her Twitter account to announce the trolling messages she received. She said, “I posted a photograph of my 10-year-old daughter jumping with joy after she got an A in the transfer test on Saturday. A sick account then trolled me, threatening to rape her and do other vile things to her.”
Twitter took some time to remove the horrendous tweets & account. I hope they will help identify the perpetrator. The PSNI response has been exceptional. Thanks to everybody who has been in contact about these threats. Your support is hugely appreciated.
— Suzanne Breen (@SuzyJourno) February 6, 2022
She announced that she reported to PSNI and said she had an exceptional response to her statement. Also, Twitter removed the suspicious account and the tweets were shared.
In Northern Ireland, women journalists face extremely severe life-threatening online threats. Patricia Devlin, who has been battling with the threatening messages she has received for years, is another journalist who was faced with a horrible situation.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism urges security forces to take a severe account of the lodged criminal complaints and statements. We extend our solidarity with Suzanne and urge the Northern Ireland authorities to ensure the safety of journalists. We reiterate that online trolling can manifest serious consequences of physical attacks, home invasions, and, in the worst-case scenario, murder.
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.
