In our 2019 report Don’t Read the Comments, we advised that online harassment of journalists should be addressed using a “whole-of-organisation” approach to address systemic and structural sexism in the workplace. This includes unequal gender representation at senior levels, workplace cultures that promote harmful or exclusive displays of masculinity (e.g. a ‘boys’ club’) and reporting and commissioning that reinforces gender bias and negative stereotypes about women.

Taking this approach means that online harassment needs to be understood as an organisational issue, not an individual one. That’s why we have created Cybersafety Training for Media Organisations. The training is a three-hour training module where we co-design ways to prevent or mitigate online harassment with organisations. Using a co-design approach enables us to work with an organisation’s strengths, identify their weaknesses and take concrete steps to addressing internal systemic or structural barriers to effectively tackling online harassment.

This training is for media workers who work in non-public facing roles and can be tailored to your organisation’s needs, strengths and existing procedures. Please email caitlin.mcgrane@genvic.org.au for a quote.

Cybersafety Training for Media Organisations was co-developed by Clare Arthurs at Swinburne University.