Online harassment against female journalists is a growing problem, UN report suggests

Rachel Gilmore says she feels like she’s creating a paper trail for her own inevitable murder.

Gilmore, 31, an independent journalist in Montreal, has been the target of what she describes as “aggressive and rampant” online harassment and violence for years.

It escalated when Gilmore, who previously worked for CTV and Global News, started reporting on online extremists. Last year, when her name was listed on a right-wing website claiming to expose people celebrating the murder of American activist Charlie Kirk, she says the threats just amplified.

On social media, she documents the countless death threats, violent rape threats and sexual deepfakes she’s received.

She’s spoken publicly about the time a man posted a video about her where he’s waving a knife, and about the photos people post to share her exact location. She’s described the time two men she unmasked in a story about active clubs found and approached her at a small music venue.

“I went to the police so many times. I sent them so much documentation, so many threats over the years,” Gilmore told CBC News.

“I started to feel like I was just giving them a paper trail for my inevitable murder. And that when I’m murdered, they’ll at least have some leads they can follow.”

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