3. Contextual overview — desk review
3. Contextual overview —
desk review
3.1 The spillover effect
of violence
Journalists, media and information providers have historically carried out the noble role of shedding light on
matters that affect individuals and communities, highlighting the ambitions, concerns, sufferings and violations that
societies are exposed to, calling for action to give rights
to those who have been marginalized or silenced, and
telling the truth so that those who are in power are held
to account. This is no easy task, and it comes with a brunt
of responsibility and leaves them vulnerable to threats
and attacks. It also has a wider effect, and it affects the
state of democracy in the world, as stated by Mexican
activist Diego Luna in his meeting with Volker Turk, the UN
Human Rights Chief: “When a journalist is killed, we are all
silenced” (United Nations, 2024)
“Media professionals around the globe face mounting
perils in their pursuit of truth, including verbal abuse, legal
threats, physical attacks, imprisonment, and torture. Some
are even killed,” said UN Secretary-General António
Guterres in his message during the virtual global international day to end impunity for crimes against journalists on
November 2, 2025 (United Nations, 2025b). He continued
to zoom in on journalists in conflict areas and war zones,
particularly mentioning that “Worldwide, nearly nine out of
ten journalist killings remain unresolved.” He noted that
Gaza has been “the deadliest place for journalists in any
conflict”, urging “independent and impartial
investigations.”(United Nations, 2025a) Such violations
have a spillover effect on other journalists and activists in
the region, particularly a country facing similar conditions
like Syria, as Ibtisam Azem, Senior Correspondent of
al-Araby al-Jadeed newspaper stated in the UN 2025
International Media Seminar on Peace in the Middle East:
“What happens in Palestine does not stay in Palestine”.
She reflected on how the killing of journalists and media
correspondents in Palestine sends a message to the
global media sphere that reporting on the truth is not safe,
especially given the impunity shields against the accountability of perpetrators. The seminar also addressed,
through the words of Wael al-Dahdouh, Bureau Chief of
Al Jazeera in Gaza, that a biased coverage of Western and
international media of Middle Eastern events leaves no
choice for Palestinian, Syrian and other journalists around
the world to risk their lives to fulfil their duty of reporting
on the truth, simply because without them, the grotesque
violations of human rights would remain unseen (United
Nations, 2025).
Violations against journalists — from killings
to online harassment and intimidation —
have a chilling, spillover effect: Each attack
sends a message that speaking the truth is
dangerous, and silences many more voices.
In 2025, violations and attacks against journalists and
media activists particularly thrive in the digital space,
sometimes with more intensity, as perpetrators are hiding behind their screens and expressing their views more
openly and aggressively. Digital interactions online have
now become a field for performances, emotional connection, and emotional release. Digital audiences now turn to
online platforms to take a break between work or unwind
after a long day, but this sometimes comes with emotional
release after hard days, and that potentially comes with
the release of anger, frustration and resentment, resulting
in social tension, hate speech and other exploitative forms
(Dettano, 2023).
This digital environment is where GBVO proliferates. GBVO
refers to acts of harm or abuse committed through digital
technologies, including harassment, stalking, non-consensual image sharing, defamation, doxxing, impersonation,
and sexual exploitation (Henry and Powell, 2018; Hinson et
al., 2018). It has emerged as a major digital rights and gender equality concern, as the online environment mirrors
and amplifies offline patriarchal norms.
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