The safety of female journalists in Serbia has drastically deteriorated: threats, physical attacks, and impunity marked the year 2025.

The safety of female journalists in Serbia during 2025 has "significantly worsened," which is one of the key conclusions from a report analyzing patterns of attacks, institutional responses, and the consequences for the work and psychological state of women employed in the media.

The authors note that the legal framework in Serbia does not recognize the specific risks faced by female journalists. Although the Criminal Code provides a higher level of protection for individuals performing public interest jobs in the field of information, there are no specific provisions that would take into account gender-based risks. However, the problem lies not only in the laws but primarily in their implementation.

Threats, campaigns, and physical attacks marked 2025

During 2025, there was a significant increase in the number of cases. During this period, public prosecutors' offices opened 140 cases related to incidents affecting journalists. Records indicate a high number of attacks on female journalists (50 cases), and when it comes to online incidents, there were more cases where female journalists were the victims compared to their male counterparts. Out of 103 individual victims of attacks, 55 were male (53.4%), while 48 were female (46.6%). From this number, the Special Department for the Fight against High-Tech Crime opened 71 cases, concerning 46 individuals, of whom 20 were male (43.48%) and 26 were female (56.52%).

Data from the SafeJournalists database show that female journalists were targeted in 16 different forms of so-called other threats, including hate speech, verbal attacks from representatives of the authorities, tabloid campaigns, and messages labeling female journalists as opponents of Serbia and the Serbian people. In some cases, individuals approached female journalists, posing as officials and requesting documents, while threats in local multi-ethnic contexts were assessed as particularly dangerous.

Even more alarming are the figures concerning serious threats. In 2025, female journalists received threats to their lives and physical safety in 26 cases. Threats came directly, on the street and during events they were covering, but also through social media, emails, and comments on portals and websites. They were threatened with murder, burning, hanging, rape, and other forms of violence, as well as attacks on their children and family members.

Female journalists were physically attacked at least 30 times in 2025. The most dangerous attacks occurred while reporting from student and civic protests, as well as during rallies and election days in local governments across Serbia. The report indicates that some of these attacks were carried out by police officers, and that female journalists faced physical interference in their work. Particularly concerning are cases where police officers witnessed the attacks but refused to intervene and assist the assaulted female journalists.

From online violence to institutional misunderstanding of the gender context

Online violence against female journalists represented one of the most pronounced problems. Female journalists reported death threats, threats of rape and physical violence, insults, defamation, trolling, cyber violence, impersonation, and sexual harassment. There were also recorded attempts to hijack accounts, attacks on portals and websites run by female journalists, as well as attempts to install tracking software on their communications. A particularly serious case involved an attempt to install tracking software on the communications of BIRN journalists.

The report indicates that the vast majority of online threats contain elements of gender-based violence and are accompanied by misogynistic and sexist insults. Such attacks, it is noted, affect not only the psychological state of female journalists but also their professional work.

When it comes to institutional response, the findings are extremely unfavorable. Of the 140 cases recorded in the prosecutor's office during 2025, in 50 cases, the victims were female journalists, and only three convictions were handed down in total, while in one case, the institution of deferring criminal prosecution was applied. In cases involving female journalists, a conviction was reached in only one case – that of journalist Verica Marinčić. In 12 cases, a resolution was issued dismissing the criminal complaint or an official note stating that there was no basis for initiating criminal proceedings, three indictments were filed, while 34 cases remain ongoing.

The authors conclude that investigations into attacks on female journalists are not conducted quickly and effectively. Judicial authorities, as noted, do not consider the broader context of threats and attacks, but adhere to narrow legal qualifications. The socio-political context, the topics the journalist was covering, the identity of the threatening individual, and the gender aspect of the case are not sufficiently taken into account.

A particular problem is the attitude of institutions towards female journalists who are exposed to harassment, sexualized threats, and the psychological consequences of violence. The report notes that institutions do not recognize the fear of sexual violence, nor the consequences such threats leave behind. In some cases, instead of linking the harassment to the journalistic work and safety of female journalists, inquiries were made to determine whether there was any previous emotional history between the victim and the perpetrator.

Attacks and police inaction

NUNS recorded 77 cases of police attacks on journalists from March to the end of December 2025, including baseless detentions and identity checks, as well as police inaction when they were present at the scene. Of this number, 26 cases involved female journalists. Such conduct, as assessed in the report, directly contributed to a sense of insecurity and a further decline in trust in institutions.

Female journalists between fear, exhaustion, and professional persistence

The consequences for female journalists are multifaceted. They face a sense of insecurity in the field, psychological pressure, burnout, and psychophysical fatigue. Poor working conditions, underpayment, financial uncertainty, pressures, threats, and reporting on traumatic events contribute to stress and burnout syndrome, which often remains unrecognized or underestimated in newsrooms.

For some female journalists, constant fear and pressure lead to avoiding certain topics, self-censorship, and even contemplating leaving the profession, especially in smaller communities. Nevertheless, the report also documents a contrary response: many female journalists refuse to let fear define them, continuing to report from risky events and insisting on doing their job professionally.

Support from newsrooms remains insufficient and inconsistent. Legal assistance exists mainly in larger media houses, while it is almost unavailable in smaller local media. Psychological support is even rarer, so female journalists most often rely on journalistic and media associations. In some cases, as noted, newsrooms use attacks on female journalists to highlight the vulnerability of the newsroom itself, while individual journalists remain without real support.

Recommendations: consistent application of regulations and stronger support in newsrooms

The recommendations emphasize that currently it is not a priority to amend the law, as existing regulations already provide a basis for protection, but are not consistently applied. Institutions are urged to act urgently and effectively in cases of attacks on female journalists, to implement the mandatory instructions of the Supreme Public Prosecutor's Office, to improve police response, and to conduct procedures in cases of police officers exceeding their authority.

Media houses and newsrooms are recommended to develop internal mechanisms for the prevention of security risks, educate employees on discrimination and forms of gender-based violence, and provide legal and psychological support to female journalists. There is a particular emphasis on the need for this support to be accessible to female journalists in smaller communities.

The conclusion of the report is that the safety of female journalists in Serbia during 2025 has worsened in almost all segments: from the number of attacks and threats, through institutional inefficiency and impunity, to psychological consequences and a lack of support in newsrooms. In such circumstances, female journalists continue to work in the public interest, but increasingly without adequate protection from those institutions that should guarantee their safety.

The entire publication can be downloaded from the NUNS website.