Female journalists’ experience of online harassment: A case study of Nepal

Abstract

This study examines the experiences of female journalists in Nepal in the context of rapidly growing expansion of broad-band Internet. By examining the findings of the qualitative in-depth interview of 48 female journalists, it argues that online platforms are threatening press freedom in Nepal, mainly by silencing female journalists. The study also indicates that the problem is particularly severe in such a patriarchal society as a significant number of incidents of abuse go unreported, largely due to a culture of shame as well as ineffective legislation. Over the course of this article, I have attempted to show how social issues raised by second-wave feminism and online feminism are similar. The findings show that some of the female journalists experiencing harassment tolerate it by being ‘strong like a man,’ while many of them avoid social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook to keep free of such abuse. The study also suggests that individual efforts to tackle the vicious issue of misogyny might not be enough and collective effort from legislation, media organisations, and feminists is required to address the issue.