Unimaginable response of Twitter to trolls attacking Barkha Dutt

INDIA, NEW DELHI, February 20 - Twitter’s response to trolls attacking Barkha Dutt is unimaginable.

We urge Twitter to adapt to the fast changing environment on its platform, which is becoming increasingly hostile for women journalists.

We stand firm in our support for our colleague Barkha Dutt, who has received hundreds of abusive messages on Twitter in the recent past. Rape threats, death threats, and more, should be considered abnormal and urgent. We have to re emphasise this is abnormal as these kind of attack are increasingly been seen as normal online behavior.

Barkha has been in the eye of the storm on Twitter and has faced hundreds of abusive tweets. Her Twitter account was suspended for violation when she attempted to push back against the men perpetuating the harassment.

“Over the years Twitter has routinely been used to harass, abuse and smear women in India, including me. NONE OF MY COMPLAINTS HAVE EVER BEEN ACTED upon. Instead our complaints are trapped in legalese and bureaucratic mazes” she tweeted.

We find it alarming that even high profile journalists such as Dutt cannot escape a barrage of harassment and abuse, which is prevalent against women journalists. We are more alarmed that a serious player in the online space such as Twitter has not been able to efficiently device a system that guides an appropriate action to be taken in such cases. We urge social media platforms to revisit their efficiency parameters when devising policies and push for safer online spaces for women.

An Amnesty International Report earlier pointed out that women are abused every 30 seconds on Twitter.

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The Coalition For Women In Journalism is a global organization of support for women journalists. The CFWIJ pioneered mentorship for mid-career women journalists across several countries around the world, and is the first organization to focus on the status of free press for women journalists. We thoroughly document cases of any form of abuse against women in any part of the globe. Our system of individuals and organizations brings together the experience and mentorship necessary to help female career journalists navigate the industry. Our goal is to help develop a strong mechanism where women journalists can work safely and thrive.

Follow us on Instagram @womeninjournalism and Twitter @CFWIJ.

Our website is WomenInJournalism.org and we can be reached at press@womeninjournalism.org