Our interviewees stated that online harassment is an increasing problem, especially – but not exclusively – for female reporters. Several Danish media have updated policies dealing with cyber harassment. One study conducted in 2018 suggests, however, that these policies have not yet fully translated into solid procedures for handling incidents of online harassment. Consequently, journalists may fail to report these incidents, and not all incidents are necessarily reported to the police (Østergaard, 2019). All interviewees found that when a journalist experienced and reported online or other types of harassment, the editors were there to help and possessed the resources to do so. Moreover, Dansk Journalistforbund [The Danish Union of Journalists] provides ample guidelines and assistance for its members (including freelance journalists) – such as a 24/7 emergency phone number – and founded a “digital self-defence group” for journalists in 2019 (Therkildsen, 2019).
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