Throughout the month of July 2021, The Coalition For Women In Journalism documented an alarming 61 cases of violations against women journalists. Types of violations include detentions, legal harassment, and physical assaults in the field, among other various kinds of press freedom attacks towards women journalists reporting from different parts of the world. Read our July 2021 report to find out more about the Press Freedom challenges women journalists have encountered in the physical and digital world this month.

Three journalists were detained by state authorities:

Belarus: Journalist Hanna Halyota was detained after a raid on her home by state authorities. More details are available here.

Cuba: CubaNet journalist Camila Acosta will be prosecuted for crimes against State Security for covering the demonstrations on July 11. Learn more about the case. 

Tunisia: The Cairo bureau chief from New York Times, Vivian Yee, was detained for a few hours and questioned.

31 cases of physical assault:

Columbia: Journalist Rebecca Linda Marlene Spöressor shared on Facebook on Friday, July 23 that she survived an assassination attempt. The details of the case are available here.

Georgia: 54 media workers were physically assaulted by a far-right anti-LGBTQ group in the Georgian capital. The news crew belonged to 16 different media companies and at least 14 women journalists were among those attacked. Read more.

Peru: Reporters, who were covering protests of Fujimori supporters, were physically assaulted by a group called “La Resistencia”. At least four women journalists suffered injuries. Learn more about the incident.

Turkey: Journalists Büşra Taşkıran and Berna Kişin were physically assaulted by the police while covering demonstrations at Sincan Prison demanding the release of The Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) deputy Faruk Gergerlioğlu. Find out more.

Turkey: Police attacked a gathering to commemorate those who lost their lives in the Suruç Massacre in Istanbul. At least eight female journalists were physically assaulted while covering the event. Click here for details.

United States: Jennifer Joas, a correspondent for NBC Connecticut, and her cameraman were attacked by an unidentified woman. Continue reading.

United States: The Guardian reporter Lois Beckett was assaulted by protesters while covering an anti-transgender rally outside a spa in Los Angeles. Further details here.

12 cases of legal harassment were recorded:

Belarus: Free press is facing extreme challenges in the country. Several women journalists are facing persecution in the form of unjustified detention, arrest and raids at apartments. Tatiana Smotkina, Anastasia Zanko and Alesia Latsinskaya are a few of those affected journalists. Continue reading about the issue.

Belarus: Police raided the homes of at least 15 journalists, six of whom were women. The journalists’ laptops, phones and equipment were also confiscated. Click here for more details.

Canada: In response to a lawsuit by the Canadian Association of Journalists, the RCMP registered an affidavit against journalist Brandi Morin accusing her of lying about being prohibited from visiting the site despite there being video proof to the contrary. Find out more.

India:  A first information report (FIR) was registered against journalist Nidhi Suresh in Uttar Pradesh’s Shahjahanpur area, following the publication of her report that detailed the harassment a woman civilian faced after her conversion from Hinduism to Islam. Learn more about the case.

Turkey: Melis Alphan’ case is scheduled to reopen in the Turkish Supreme Court after the prosecution appealed the decision to acquit the journalist. Further details here.

Turkey: The hearing of the trial against six journalists, including Derya Okatan was yet again postponed. The next hearing is scheduled to take place on December 9, 2021. Follow the story.

Five journalists faced serious threats:

Brazil: Journalist and columnist Juliana Dal Piva was threatened by President Jair Bolsonaro’s lawyer Frederick Wassef after a podcast was aired exposing the president's corruption. Learn more about the case.

China: Beijing bureau chief for the Los Angeles Times, Alice Su, was harangued alongside her colleague, by citizens. This case is similar to what Katrina Yu, an Al Jazeera English correspondent, expressed her concerns about. Continue reading on the issue.

India: The police assaulted the father of exiled Kashmiri photojournalist Masrat Zahra. The journalist claims this is an attempt to intimidate her into silence. Follow the story here.

Russia: Anna Mongayt, a presenter for Dozhd TV, received online threats after interviewing a same-sex couple for Elle magazine. Further details available here.

Three journalists confronted online harassment:

Canada: Natasha Fatah, host and reporter for CBC News, endured vicious trolling by an anonymous account who wished ill health upon her and her family. Click here for more details.

Turkey: Independent journalists Canan Kaya and Nevşin Mengü were falsely accused online of being funded by international organisations because of their views on the refugee crisis. Follow the story.

Two incidents of sexual harassment came to light:

India: A website sexualizing Muslim women, including those in the news media industry, was discovered earlier this month and was eventually taken down after public outrage. Read details about the case.

United States: Journalist Brianna Hamblin who is associated with Spectrum News 1 was harassed by multiple men while on assignment on July 23. Find out more about the incident.

Two women journalists faced state persecution:

Iran/United States: A prominent Iranian human rights activist and journalist living in New York, Masih Alinejad was the target of an international kidnapping attempt. Four Iranian intelligence officials have been convicted by the Federal court in Manhattan for orchestrating the plot. Follow the story.

Venezuela: Mildred Manrique, journalist associated with 800 Noticias, confirmed that armed security officers attempted to search her house without having a prior notice or a search warrant. More details available here.

One journalist encountered a racist incident:

Canada: A Facebook user messaged journalist Nahreman Issa, attacking her expertise and professionalism by targeting her race. Learn more about the case. 

One journalist faced verbal harassment:

Spain: Sonia Lopez, a correspondent for Antena 3, was harassed while covering an anti-mask demonstration in the Plaza de Colón, Madrid. Details available here.

And not all forms of violence are restricted to our personhood, sometimes violence involves erasure of our histories:

Canada: Canada based Ukrainian journalist, Ustia Stefanchuk was censored by Facebook after publishing a post about the torture her ancestors were subjected to at the hands of Soviet forces in 1941. Continue reading about the case.