@inproceedings{01HASAMVQSDGV4BCCZRCQ6B84T,
  abstract     = {{Violence against journalists has taken many forms: murders, kidnappings, physical assaults, verbal abuse, etc. It was more likely to come from countries in extreme risk situations such as Mexico, Rwanda, Brazil or Israel (Frère, 2015; Brambila, 2017; Rios & Bronosky, 2019). In recent years, violence seems to be spreading all over the world. Gender-based violence, cyber-harassment, and physical attacks on journalists during their work are illustrative of this major challenge for both the profession and press freedom (Löfgren Nilsson & Örnebring, 2016; Høiby, 2016; Corcione, 2018: Waisbord, 2020).
Even in Belgium, a country ranked 23rd in the Press Freedom Index (RSF, 2022), the professional and academic worlds are taking a closer look at violence (Malcorps, Libert & Le Cam, 2022; De Vuyst & Raeymaeckers, 2019). In early 2023, we distributed a questionnaire  mto almost all the members (5069) of the two national journalists' associations. The response rate is 28% (n=1396). Three perspectives can thus be explored: 1) to map the diversity of online and offline violence encountered by Belgian journalists, their frequency and nature; 2) to identify the number of journalists affected, their gender, age, professional status, topics of coverage; 3) to measure the consequences of this violence on journalists and identify whether they find ways to cope with it.

Analysis has just started but the first findings show that 57% of the Belgian journalists experienced at least one type of violence throughout their career. 4 out of 10 respondents have been the target of verbal violence, 3 out of 10 have been intimidated, 5% have been physically assaulted. Almost 2 out of 10 women report sexual transgressive behavior. More detailed analyses will be conducted to better understand the problematic of the violence against journalists, its targeted character and the consequences on careers and the profession such as the silencing of journalists. 
 
References
Brambila, J. A. (2017). Forced silence: Determinants of journalist killings in Mexico's states, 2010–2015. Journal of Information Policy, 7, 297-326.
Corcione, D. (2018). The Shitty Media Men List is the# MeToo of toxic newsrooms: a failure to protect non-male freelance workers. Feminist Media Studies, 18(3), 500-502.
De Vuyst, S., & Raeymaeckers, K. (2019). Gender as a multi-layered issue in journalism: A multi-method approach to studying barriers sustaining gender inequality in Belgian newsrooms. European journal of women's studies, 26(1), 23-38.
Frère, M. S. (2015). Journaliste en Afrique : métier à risque et risques pour le métier. Du risque en Afrique. Terrains et perspectives, Paris, Karthala, 132-153.
Høiby, M. (2016). Sexual violence against journalists in conflict zones. gendered practices and cultures in the newsroom. Gendering War and Conflict Reporting.
Löfgren Nilsson, M., & Örnebring, H. (2016). Journalism under threat: Intimidation and harassment of Swedish journalists. Journalism Practice, 10(7), 880-890.
Malcorps, S., Libert, M., & Le Cam, F. (2022). A Matter of Organisational Silence: Media Managers Struggling to Make Sense of the Online Harassment of Journalists as a Collective Issue in Journalism. Digital Journalism, 1-18.
Rios, A., & Bronosky, M. (2019). Violência contra jornalistas, ameaça à sociedade. Mosaico, 11(17), 86-103.
Reporters Without Borders (2022). Press Freedom Index 2022. https://rsf.org/en/index
Waisbord, S. (2020). Mob censorship: Online harassment of US journalists in times of digital hate and populism. Digital Journalism, 8(8), 1030-1046.}},
  author       = {{Libert, Manon and Le Cam, Florence and Vanhaelewyn, Bart and Van Leuven, Sarah and Raeymaeckers, Karin}},
  booktitle    = {{Future of Journalism Conference 2023, Abstracts}},
  keywords     = {{journalism,violence,survey,transgressive behaviour,women}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  location     = {{Cardiff, UK}},
  title        = {{Mapping violence and targeted journalistic identities in Belgium}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}