As the digital space rapidly becomes an essential extension of journalistic work, technology-facilitated violence against female journalists has escalated, including harassment, defamation, and direct threats. Available data indicates that this phenomenon is no longer limited to individual interactions but is increasingly linked to broader political and social dynamics, particularly in contexts of conflict and institutional fragility.
International literature indicates that this type of violence is not merely an individual violation but is closely linked to the undermining of women’s participation in the public sphere, through the use of digital tools such as defamation and privacy violations as means of exclusion. At the regional level, studies show that the Arab region suffers from legislative and institutional gaps, alongside weak reporting and response mechanisms, which limit accountability and contribute to the entrenchment of a digital environment characterized by impunity.
This phenomenon is particularly acute in conflict-affected contexts, where digital violence intersects with political polarization and institutional fragility, reinforcing its use as a tool of pressure targeting actors in the public sphere, including women journalists. In this context, the Sudanese case stands out as a telling example. Since the outbreak of war in April 2023, the digital space has witnessed a marked escalation in patterns of targeting, including coordinated campaigns, direct threats, and account hacking, reflecting its transformation into a parallel arena of conflict in which digital tools are used to silence journalistic voices.
This paper is based on the premise that digital violence against Sudanese women journalists is not practiced as isolated individual behavior but rather constitutes a systematic tool of repression with political and gender-based dimensions, reinforced by the context of conflict and the absence of legal and institutional protection. Against this backdrop, the paper aims to analyze patterns of this violence by linking field data drawn from interviews, institutional data, and research literature on technology-facilitated gender-based violence, alongside studies on digital violence in conflict settings, to understand its mechanisms and impacts and explore possible avenues for protection.
The paper employs a qualitative methodology based on semi-structured in-depth interviews conducted remotely with two Sudanese female journalists who experienced various forms of digital violence during the war, as well as interviews with a representative of the Sudanese Journalists’ Union and experts in digital security, cybersecurity, and the legal framework. The interviews focus on key themes, including: patterns of digital targeting, mechanisms of attack, their psychological and professional impact, and available protection strategies. The paper also draws on a literature review of reports and studies related to digital violence in conflict contexts, with the aim of situating the findings within a broader discussion of the relationship between technology, gender, and freedom of expression.
From Publication to Targeting: Patterns of Escalating Digital Violence Against Women Journalists
The qualitative data drawn from this study indicate that the targeting of female journalists in the digital sphere does not occur randomly, but rather follows an escalating pattern that can be traced over time, often beginning after the publication of journalistic content addressing sensitive issues or related to conflict contexts. In one of the cases studied, a Sudanese journalist was subjected to a wave of hostile interactions immediately after publishing an investigative report on war-related violations. This manifested in an intensification of abusive comments and the reposting of the content across various online groups, before escalating within days to direct threatening messages, culminating in the hacking of her personal account and her temporary loss of control over it. This escalation reflects the existence of implicit or coordinated mechanisms to amplify attacks, transforming the digital space into a tool of gradual pressure that pushes targets toward self-censorship or withdrawal from the public sphere.
This situation reflects a pattern of digital targeting that begins with low-intensity forms, such as abusive comments or smear campaigns, before gradually escalating to direct threats and more serious violations, including hacking or the publication of personal data. These dynamics are also linked to coordinated digital campaigns that rely on networks of fake accounts and bots to amplify abusive content and expand its reach, thereby intensifying the psychological and professional impact on victims. The function of these tools is not limited to increasing the scale of the attack; they also create a false impression of societal consensus, which exacerbates the psychological pressure on female journalists and undermines their professional credibility. In conflict contexts, these practices can be understood as part of broader strategies of information warfare, as the digital space is used to reshape public opinion and target its actors.
In this context, a report by the University of Oxford’s “Computational Propaganda” Project points to the existence of organized patterns of manipulation of public discourse through social media across dozens of countries, using fake accounts and coordinated networks to influence public discourse and target actors in the public sphere, including women journalists. This evidence shows that digital violence is not practiced merely as an individual act but rather as part of broader dynamics in which political and technological dimensions intersect.
This pattern is reinforced by the rapid development of digital tools, including artificial intelligence technologies, which have accelerated the pace of attacks and increased their capacity for dissemination and coordination. Recent reports indicate that these developments have contributed to an escalation in the intensity of digital violence against women in the public sphere, making it more complex and impactful, creating what is known as the “chilling effect,” which drives many women to limit their participation in public discourse.
The impact of this violence is not limited to the digital sphere but extends into social and professional life, as it contributes to creating a climate of intimidation and psychological pressure that may lead to self-censorship or partial or complete withdrawal from the public sphere. Interviews conducted as part of this study show that this escalation has direct psychological effects, manifested in persistent stress and anxiety, even among female journalists with prior experience dealing with digital violence. This reality also drives some of them to adopt individual protection strategies, such as limiting interaction or strengthening privacy settings, without providing complete protection.
Professionally, digital violence does not necessarily lead to the immediate cessation of journalistic work, but it contributes to creating a stressful environment that may lead journalists to avoid sensitive topics or temporarily withdraw from their work, particularly in the absence of effective reporting and accountability mechanisms. This, in turn, reinforces a climate of impunity and encourages the recurrence of such violations.
This aligns with findings in the human rights literature, which regard technology-facilitated gender-based violence as a human rights violation due to its direct impact on women’s ability to exercise their fundamental rights, including freedom of expression and participation in the public sphere.
From Website Hacking to Incitement Lists: Patterns of Targeting in the Sudanese Context
Cases of digital targeting against women journalists in Sudan are not isolated incidents but rather reflect a broader pattern of systematic violations. A report by the Sudanese Journalists Syndicate (SJS) documented that journalists have been subjected to a wide range of digital threats, including organized online smear campaigns, account hacking, and surveillance of communications, as well as direct threats that have forced some to stop working or leave the country. The total number of documented violations reached 83 cases, including 33 targeting women journalists, indicating a clear gender-based dimension to the nature of this violence.
This finding must be understood within a broader context, as international estimates indicate that approximately 73% of women journalists worldwide have experienced some form of online violence. This reflects the global scale of the phenomenon and reinforces the interpretation of the Sudanese case as part of a structural pattern that transcends local particularities.
In this context, one of the cases examined illustrates how digital targeting can take overlapping and escalating forms. One woman journalist found her name included on lists accusing journalists of “inciting war,” marking the culmination of a series of preceding digital pressures. Information gathered through the interview indicates that this targeting was not an isolated incident; rather, it was preceded by an attempt to hack her news website, as well as continuous threats she had received since the outbreak of the conflict.
This trajectory intersects with a broader context of security and livelihood vulnerability, as the digital targeting coincided with the forced displacement of the journalist’s family within Sudan following the occupation of their home, while she was outside the country for health reasons related to the treatment of one of her children. This case illustrates the intersection of digital violence with the security and living conditions in Sudan, showing that the boundaries between the digital and physical spheres have become increasingly blurred, as online threats can evolve into real-world dangers affecting personal and family safety. This reality reflects the particular nature of conflict settings, which amplify the impact of digital violence and transform it from a tool of psychological pressure into a direct security threat.
Despite these circumstances, the evidence indicates that the journalist has continued to carry out her professional work, including managing her media platform and publishing content related to the conflict, despite repeated attempts to silence her through threats and digital pressure.
This case also highlights the dangers of so-called “incitement lists,” which involve publicly naming journalists in an accusatory context, thereby contributing to the mobilization of public opinion against them. Evidence suggests that this type of practice is not limited to psychological pressure but may also pave the way for direct physical threats, particularly in the context of armed conflict and weak protection and accountability institutions.
Consequently, these cases can be understood as part of a broader pattern of systematic digital violence that not only seeks to undermine journalistic work but also contributes to creating a hostile environment that drives self-censorship and withdrawal from the public sphere, particularly among women journalists.
Digital Violence in Sudan: Gaps in Legal Protection and Accountability
The escalation of digital violence against journalists in Sudan is not confined to isolated incidents but reflects a recurring pattern of violations within a fragile political and security environment. Data from the Sudanese Journalists Syndicate (SJS) indicates that 102 digital violence-related violations have been documented since the outbreak of the war in April 2023, more than half of which targeted women journalists. The actual number is likely much higher due to underreporting driven by fear and social and security pressures.
These figures reveal a clear gender-based dimension to the nature of the violence, as attacks against women journalists take forms that include defamation, character assassination, and threats of a personal or familial nature. This is consistent with research indicating that women in conflict settings face additional barriers to reporting due to social stigma and patriarchal structures that hold them responsible for preserving their “reputation”.
At the legal level, the digital space in Sudan is primarily governed by the Combating Cybercrimes Act of 2018 and its subsequent amendments, alongside the general provisions set forth in the Criminal Procedure Act of 1991. The legal framework covers offenses related to computer systems, information, digital content, abuse, and defamation.
However, an analysis of this framework reveals two fundamental gaps. The first relates to weak enforcement, as the effectiveness of the judicial bodies has declined amid the war and political polarization, limiting the ability to prosecute perpetrators of digital violations or provide effective remedies for victims. The second gap lies in the absence of a gender-based approach in the legislation, as the law does not contain explicit provisions addressing gender-based digital violence or the specific targeting of women in the digital sphere, leaving women journalists within a general legal protection framework that does not reflect the nature of the risks they face.
These gaps exacerbate a climate of impunity, particularly given the growing use of the digital sphere as an extension of political conflict. Social media platforms have thus become a parallel arena of confrontation, where smear campaigns and hate speech are used as tools to pressure and silence journalistic voices in the absence of effective oversight mechanisms or an institutional response suited to the local context. Recent analyses indicate that social media platforms have become a parallel arena of conflict, where political propaganda and misinformation are used extensively by parties to the conflict, thereby contributing to the intensification of polarization and the targeting of actors in the public sphere.
In this context, the role of the Sudanese Journalists Syndicate (SJS) is limited to monitoring, documentation, and submitting reports to international bodies, without possessing the operational tools needed to protect journalists or ensure accountability for perpetrators. The limited response of digital platforms themselves is also evident, as they continue to lack effective policies that take linguistic and local contexts into account, thereby limiting their ability to detect coordinated campaigns or respond to harmful content in a timely and effective manner.
At the implementation level, enforcement of these laws remains limited due to the weak technical capacities of the competent authorities, the complexity of digital tracing procedures, and the fragility of institutional structures in the context of conflict. Testimonies reveal that the number of cases pursued through the courts remains limited and does not reflect the scale of documented violations, reinforcing victims’ perception that reporting such incidents is futile.
Conversely, a legal testimony indicates that some minor individual cases, such as instances of verbal abuse through private messages, may reach the courts and result in prison sentences and fines. However, these cases remain limited and do not necessarily reflect the legal system’s capacity to address more complex forms of digital violence, such as coordinated campaigns, hacking, or the dissemination of personal data, highlighting the selective and uneven nature of law enforcement.
This weakness in enforcement is also linked to a broader political context, as the legal framework is, in some cases, used to restrict press freedom rather than protect it, particularly under authorities that adopt restrictive approaches toward the media and seek to monitor and control the media sphere. For example, legal testimonies point to the continued use of censorship practices such as pre- and post-censorship (before and after publication), which include reviewing journalistic content or confiscating publications from distribution outlets. This reflects the use of legal and administrative tools to regulate the media sphere rather than protect it.
These challenges are further exacerbated by the war, which has disrupted law enforcement institutions—including the police, prosecution authorities, and courts—in many areas, significantly limiting the ability to prosecute perpetrators of digital crimes. As a result, many women journalists tend to avoid reporting violations, whether due to limited confidence in the effectiveness of legal channels or fear of being exposed to additional risks. This, in turn, limits the prospects for accountability and contributes to the entrenchment of a digital environment characterized by impunity, in which the targeting of women, including women journalists, becomes a low-cost, high-impact tactic.
Legal gaps linked to weak enforcement and the absence of a gender-based approach reveal structural shortcomings in addressing digital violence, as the legal framework remains rooted in a traditional conception of crime that does not keep pace with the complex and interconnected nature of digital attacks. Moreover, the absence of explicit provisions addressing coordinated campaigns or gender-based targeting limits the law’s ability to provide effective protection and contributes to the entrenchment of a climate of impunity, particularly within a fragile political and security context.
This reluctance aligns with the findings of regional studies on technology-facilitated gender-based violence. A recent study conducted in Jordan points to significant gaps in legal and institutional responses, including weak law enforcement and limited access to justice, alongside shortcomings in digital platforms’ responses to harmful content, leaving survivors vulnerable to repeated violations. Conversely, the study also highlights the potential of the digital sphere as a tool for advocacy and the building of support networks, reflecting the dual nature of technology in contexts of digital violence.
This pattern of underreporting is not limited to the Sudanese context but is consistent with the findings of international research on digital violence against women journalists, which reveals a striking reluctance to pursue legal avenues. Survey data indicates that only about 11% of women journalists who experienced digital violence reported it, while only a very limited proportion filed formal complaints with law enforcement authorities, reflecting a structural gap in confidence in the prospects of successful prosecution and the effectiveness of legal protection.
From Harassment to Hacking: Patterns of Systematic Digital Violence
Data gathered from the interviews indicate that the digital attacks targeting women journalists in Sudan are not isolated or spontaneous incidents but rather take the form of complex and coordinated patterns that begin with cyberharassment through accounts that are similar in style and content and extend to more serious practices, such as the publication of personal information (doxxing), account hacking, and the seizure of journalistic materials.
This violence takes on a clear gender-based character, as attacks shift from criticism of content to gender-based targeting, including sexual harassment, sexual blackmail, and moral defamation. This is consistent with the findings of international studies on digital violence against women journalists, which show that women working in the media are subjected to patterns of targeting that differ qualitatively from those experienced by their male counterparts. The literature confirms that digital violence against women journalists is not limited to verbal abuse but encompasses a wide range of coordinated practices, including dogpiling, identity theft, and the use of fake or automated accounts (bots) to amplify hostile content, in addition to manipulating the algorithmic visibility of content in order to undermine professional credibility and flood the digital space with misleading content.
In this context, some digital analyses reveal documented cases of coordinated campaigns targeting women through the exploitation of their images or personal information for purposes of blackmail or defamation, as in the case of the so-called "Baroud Brigade" on TikTok, which represents a clear example of the use of the digital space to conduct organized campaigns of defamation and sexual blackmail.
Studies on “computational propaganda” also show that coordinated digital campaigns rely on the use of fake or automated accounts (bots) to manipulate public discourse and create a false impression of widespread support or consensus. This tactic is used in political contexts to target specific actors, including journalists. These studies indicate that repeated messaging, synchronized posting, and similar patterns of interaction are technical indicators of the centralized management of such campaigns, which aim to create psychological and professional pressure and drive targets to withdraw from public engagement or practice self-censorship.
In conflict settings, such as Sudan, the dangers posed by these practices are magnified, as digital violence intersects with fragile security conditions and the absence of institutional protection, making digital breaches or data leaks a threat that can escalate into direct physical harm. Moreover, targeting the digital accounts of women journalists not only threatens their personal safety but also exposes their journalistic sources and the confidentiality of their professional work to serious risks, including blackmail and direct targeting. In this reality, women journalists cannot afford to wait for institutional protection, making possession of basic digital safety tools a matter of professional and personal survival.
Cybersecurity: The First Line of Defense for Women Journalists
In contexts of conflict and institutional fragility, the risks facing women journalists are not limited to the field but extend into the digital sphere, where personal accounts and work tools become direct targets. Data gathered from the interviews indicates that a significant portion of these risks is not linked to advanced technologies as much as it is to common daily practices, such as using open Wi-Fi networks, unsecured devices, interacting with untrusted links, or installing non-genuine software. In sensitive environments, these practices can provide entry points for account compromise, data leaks, or the exposure of sources.
These findings are consistent with the international literature on digital safety, which notes that cyberattacks against journalists often begin with low-complexity methods, such as phishing or the theft of login credentials, before escalating into full-scale compromises of accounts or devices. This literature confirms that basic preventive measures, such as using strong and unique passwords, enabling two-factor authentication, and regularly updating systems, can significantly reduce the risk of compromise.
Digital safety guidelines also show that protecting women journalists is not limited to securing accounts but also includes managing one’s personal digital footprint and reducing the amount of information publicly available online. It is advisable to conduct periodic reviews of information published on the internet, including searching for personal details such as addresses, phone numbers, or photographs, and taking steps to remove them or restrict access to them whenever possible, given their frequent use in campaigns of threats and defamation. It is also recommended to assess digital risks before undertaking journalistic work, particularly on sensitive topics, and to understand the capabilities of potential actors who may target women journalists, including phishing and digital surveillance techniques. This enables the adoption of preventive measures that are better suited to the specific context.
These findings illustrate that cybersecurity measures, despite their importance, remain insufficient if considered in isolation from their broader context. The protection of women journalists cannot be reduced to individual measures alone; rather, it requires a comprehensive approach that integrates technical, legal, and institutional dimensions, opening the way for the exploration of protection strategies within a multi-level framework.
A Multi-Level Approach to Protection
Field data and institutional analyses indicate that the response to digital violence against women journalists in conflict settings cannot be limited to individual measures but requires a multi-level approach that integrates legal, institutional, and technical dimensions. In the Sudanese context, union reports confirm that systematic incitement campaigns are not confined to the digital sphere but also contribute to creating a hostile environment that exposes journalists to direct threats and undermines the right of access to information, within a climate characterized by weak accountability and persistent impunity.
At the regional level, the literature indicates that gender-based digital violence in conflict zones is linked to gaps in legislative frameworks and limited law enforcement, alongside the absence of effective reporting and support mechanisms, which exacerbates victims’ vulnerability and limits their ability to seek redress. This literature also emphasizes that addressing this phenomenon requires integrated interventions, including strengthening legislation, enhancing the accountability of digital platforms, developing psychological and legal support services, and raising digital awareness while empowering women to use digital spaces safely.
This is consistent with international frameworks that emphasize the need for a comprehensive, evidence-based approach that brings together research, public policy, and prevention strategies, while taking into account the needs of the most vulnerable groups and fostering collaboration among researchers, policymakers, and civil society, with the aim of building safer and more just digital environments. In this context, addressing digital violence becomes an issue that extends beyond individual technical protection to encompass structural reforms that ensure accountability and limit the use of digital space as a tool of repression or exclusion, particularly in contexts where political fragility intersects with gender-based discrimination.
This study demonstrates that digital violence against Sudanese women journalists cannot be understood as a series of isolated individual incidents but rather as part of a broader system of repression in which political, gender-based, and technological dimensions intersect, particularly in the context of armed conflict.
An analysis of interviews and institutional data reveals that the digital space has become a parallel arena of conflict, where coordinated campaigns, including the use of automated accounts (bots), are employed as tools to undermine journalistic work and create a hostile environment for women journalists. This reality also highlights the limitations of legal and institutional frameworks in responding to these violations, whether due to weak enforcement or the absence of a gender-sensitive approach.
In this context, individual protection strategies do not appear sufficient on their own; rather, their effectiveness remains contingent upon broader reforms that include strengthening legal frameworks, enhancing accountability mechanisms, and improving the responsiveness of digital platforms to local contexts.
Consequently, addressing digital violence against women journalists in Sudan requires a multi-level approach that extends beyond the technical dimension to encompass structural reforms that ensure a safer and more equitable media environment and enable women journalists to carry out their work without fear or threat.
The views represented in this paper are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Arab Reform Initiative, its staff, or its board.
