The Coalition For Women In Journalism finds Twitter’s policies condemnable, and extends support to our colleague Barkha Dutt
Twitter’s response to trolls attacking Barkha Dutt is unimaginable. We urge Twitter to adapt to the fast changing environment on its platform, that is increasingly becoming hostile to women journalists.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
New Delhi, February 20, 2019 — We stand firm in our support for our colleague Barkha Dutt, who has received hundreds of abusive messages on Twitter in the recent past. Rape threats, death threats, and more, should be considered abnormal and urgent. We have to re emphasise this is abnormal as these kind of attack are increasingly been seen as normal online behavior.
Dutt has been in the eye of the storm on Twitter and has faced hundreds of abusive tweets. Her Twitter account was suspended for violation when she attempted to push back against the men perpetuating the harassment.
“Over the years Twitter has routinely been used to harass, abuse and smear women in India, including me. NONE OF MY COMPLAINTS HAVE EVER BEEN ACTED upon. Instead our complaints are trapped in legalese and bureaucratic mazes” she tweeted.
https://twitter.com/BDUTT/status/1097705446809522176
We find it alarming that even high profile journalists such as Dutt cannot escape a barrage of harassment and abuse, which is prevalent against women journalists. We are more alarmed that a serious player in the online space such as Twitter has not been able to efficiently device a system that guides an appropriate action to be taken in such cases. We urge social media platforms to revisit their efficiency parameters when devising policies and push for safer online spaces for women.
An Amnesty International Report earlier pointed out that women are abused every 30 seconds on Twitter.
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About the Coalition For Women In Journalism The Coalition For Women In Journalism is a pioneering global network of support for women journalists. There are seven chapters in seven countries that offer help to journalists in five languages. Our network of individuals and organizations brings together the experience and mentorship necessary to help women navigate the industry.
For more information about the Coalition, please visit www.womeninjournalism.org.
CONTACT:
Press Inquiries
Sulome Anderson
Director Advocacy
Coalition For Women In Journalism
sulome.anderson@womeninjournalism.org
Luavut Zahid
Global Coordinator
Coalition For Women in Journalism
