Female journalists covering the Hong Kong protests confront ambivalent sexism on the street and in the newsroom

Verbal, physical, and online attacks on journalists who cover protests around the worldhave been increasing in recent years, resulting in a decrease in both the amount ofreporting that is being done and the accountability that reporting provides. Journalists have been targeted by demonstrators, counter-demonstrators, and police while covering nationalist, xenophobic, and anti-government protests in both democratic and non-democratic counties. This study explores these issues through an analysis of the results of a survey of Hong Kong journalists who covered the 2019 anti-extradition bill protests and of interviews with specifically female journalists who did so. The aim of the study is to explain, using a phenomenological approach and from a feminist perspective, the ambivalent sexism encountered by women journalists.The study also sheds light on the complexities involved in discussing gender-based violence against journalists since this problem relates not only to gender but also to politics, state power, and media ownership.