Digital Threats Against Women Journalists in Mexico : Networks as a Coping Strategy

Abstract: Mexico is currently one the most dangerous countries in the world to practice journalism, with one of the highest death rates in the world. Violence against Mexican journalists has received significant attention from researchers, most recently when it comes to digital threats. Research suggests that online harassment against journalists is not only related to the profession or topic covered, but also individual characteristics like gender, race and sexuality. Digital threats affect everyone, but the threats women are faced with are disproportionate. While digital technologies are useful in developing reporting practices, it has also been shown as detrimental. Through a semi-structured WhatsApp interview with a Mexican women journalists and coordinator in an International Journalist Network, this study attempts to identify the perceptions of online threats against women journalists and the use of Networks as a coping strategy. Through the use of digital testimonies, this study attempts to further amplify Mexican women journalists’ voices and experiences when it comes to using Networks as a coping strategy to confront online violence.  The importance here is to understand the Mexican context and the dimensions to digital violence, the possibilities of resilience and the coping strategies practiced by Mexican women journalists. Through analysing perceptions of the threat and their experiences with Networks, this study attemps to identify the strengths and possibilities of Networks as a coping strategy, when it comes to digital threats, but also its barriers and limitations. This study is important to the field of Communication of Development and Social Change as it underscores the importance of listening, understanding local contexts, perceptions and resilience. This is crucial when undertaking intitaves on a larger scale for social change.