Media organisations are failing to protect LGBTQ journalists from harassment and abuse

"The report uncovered sustained abuse facing LGBTQ journalists, weak support for victims of harassment, and specific abuse targeting sexual orientation and gender identity".

It’s no secret that pressures facing journalists around the world have amped up in recent years. Direct threats to journalists in the form of repression from authoritarian governments are well know, but even in countries with robust press freedoms and strong human rights laws, LGBTQ journalists are being failed by media organisations.

As a Fellow of the Sir Lenny Henry Centre for Media Diversity, an independent body producing research with the aim of boosting diversity across the media ecosystem, I spoke to dozens of LGBTQ journalists, media executives, editors and policymakers to gain a better understanding of how media organisations are supporting their LGBTQ journalists.

While the impact of more insidious forms of self-censorship are hard to accurately estimate, there’s no question that countless LGBTQ journalists have shied away from reporting on vital queer issues as a direct result of the blowback they expect to receive from covering these topics.

Based on these interviews, extensive research and a survey of 40 LGBTQ journalists, I wrote a report called ‘Are media organisations adequately protecting LGBTQ journalists from harassment and abuse?’, that set out a clear series of problems facing LGBTQ journalists doing their jobs.

The vast majority of survey respondents (86%) say they experience abuse and harassment and 78% either agree or strongly agree that it is becoming more dangerous to be an LGBTQ journalist.

The report uncovered sustained abuse facing LGBTQ journalists, weak support for victims of harassment, specific abuse targeting sexual orientation and gender identity being commonplace and social media being the main platform for abusive messaging.