3. Contextual overview — desk review
3.3 Systemized GBVO
against journalists,
media activists and
human rights defenders
According to a study developed by Euromed rights, “in
Syria, the opposition was, and still is, the victim of cyberattacks carried out by the government.” (Lannazzone et al.,
2021). While this report was published in 2021, the reality
still holds true in 2025, according to documentation by the
Syrian Centre for Media Freedoms at the Syrian Journalists
Association, there has been a surge in violations against
journalists and media workers, particularly females, since
early May 2025 amidst security voids, political volatility
and limited safeguards to ensure press freedom (Levant
News, 2025). This will be strongly extended to digital
spaces, in which “women human rights defenders, journalists, and politicians are especially susceptible to information and communications technology (ICT)-related violations linked with their engagement in the public sphere
and their visibility online.” (Human Right Council, 2018).
This was also exasperated following the COVID-19 pandemic in which internet users in Syria have approximately
increased from 6.3 million in 2019 to 9.01 million in early
2025 (roughly 35 percent penetration rate), in addition to
the increase in chat-based applications and social messaging applications in which personal data is being more
widely shared (Data Portal, 2025; World Bank, 2025).
Women human rights defenders, journalists,
and politicians are especially susceptible
to information and communications
technology related violations linked with
their engagement in the public sphere and
their visibility online.
According to a report released by the Syrian Network for
Human Rights, women that are active in various fields,
particularly politics and media have been exposed to
several instances of assault and intimidation (107 were
documented in the year between 2020 – 2021). “Many of
these violations involved defamation campaigns aimed at
damaging the reputations and dignity of the women
involved, with some perpetrators using social media to
spread false information about them.” (SNHR, 2021). SNHR
further documents that fear of retaliation, social stigma,
and the absence of effective accountability mechanisms
significantly constrain women’s ability to report violations
or seek protection (SNHR, 2024). These conditions amplify
the impact of GBVO against women journalists and human
rights defenders, where online threats and harassment
operate within an already hostile environment that discourages visibility and public engagement.
This had disastrous effects on the lives of women in politics and/or media as some of them have thought about
suicide, suffered from depression or had to leave their jobs.
Before the fall of the Assad regime, the European Agency
for Asylum documented violations against journalists and
media workers by the Government of Syria (The Assad
Regime), The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), The Syrian
National Army, Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), and ISIS (Syrian
Independent Public Interest Media Organizations, 2024).
3.4 The role of media
and online platforms in
GBVO in Syria
After the fall of the Assad regime, the media sector has hope
and strong demands (Syrian Independent Public Interest
Media Organizations, 2024) for the freedom of the media
sector allowing for freedom of speech, and relatedly the
protection of journalists and media activists to be able to
operate in a safe and regulated landscape. Syrian media
institutions, particularly alternative media, and Civil Society Organizations, and International Media Development
Organizations have exerted efforts to fight GBVO through
research studies and documentation of violations, case
studies, and personal stories, psychosocial support, awareness raising campaigns, training programs for journalists and
reporters, campaigning and advocacy, warning messages,
and support groups. The most recent initiative is a local
version of the Global UNITE UN campaign to end violence
against women, in which a seminar was held in Damascus in
November 2025 to gather stakeholders and discuss areas
of tackling such an issue (UNiTE!, 2025). The initiative is
fostered by the Syrian bar association, in which it aims to
safeguard women against all types of violence including
psychological, physical and most urgently digital (United
in Ending Digital Violence: A Legal and Societal Initiative to
Protect Women in Syria — The Syrian Observer, 2025). There
are ample initiatives online including Salamatech, Syrian
Female Journalists Network (SFJN) and Equity and Empowerment Organization (E&E) that have run awareness campaigns on digital GBV. Several organizations have supported
GBV survivors, yet not necessarily GBVO survivors.
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