50. As the United Nations Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences pointed out in a recent report of May 2020, violence against women journalists “mirror[s] larger patterns of sexism and gender-based violence that seek not only to punish women for voicing critical or dissenting opinions, but also for speaking out as women.” 65 In this regard, it is worth highlighting what was stated by experts Daniela Kravetz and Patricia Viseur Sellers, who agreed that acts of violence against women journalists are not isolated incidents, but rather such gender-based violence is symptomatic of a pattern of structural discrimination against women rooted in stereotypes of female inferiority. 66 51. Added to this is the systematic impunity that exists for this type of crime and the discriminatory treatment when it comes to dealing with it, which contributes to a lack of trust by women journalists in State institutions and causes an “under-count of cases," as stated by Ms. Bedoya during the public hearing. 67 Ms. Bedoya also indicated that according to a recent study carried out by the organization “No es hora de callar”—an organization she leads and that is focused on documenting cases of gender-based violence in general and violence directed against women journalists in particular—“6 out of 10 women journalists in Colombia have suffered harassment, and right now they face persecution and stigmatization,” and “8 out of 10 women journalists in Colombia choose to selfcensor or abandon their sources and their work to avoid becoming the victims of violence.” 68 All this causes women journalists to rethink their professions, and they often end up leaving it, or even if they want to pursue it, they persist in the belief that journalism is not an “appropriate” profession for women. 69 65 Cf. United Nations, Human Rights Council, “Combating violence against women journalists,” Report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, A/HRC/44/52, May 6, 2020, para. 33. Cf. Expert opinion given at a public hearing and forwarded in writing by Daniela Kravetz (merits file, folios 1103, 1104, and 1109), and Expert opinion given by affidavit by Patricia Viseur Sellers (evidence file, folio 40138). 66 67 Ms. Bedoya stated as follows: And the under-count of cases of women journalists who have had to face sexual violence in all its forms—harassment, intimidation, physical violence itself, and stigmatization, which I think is one of the most difficult and least accounted-for parts, because when a woman communicates, speaks up, and reports, the first reaction is to stigmatize her, it is to treat her like a nobody, to treat her as (I am not going to use the words here, you already know what I mean), how women are pigeonholed because they are women. And at that time, there were many cases and there were many cases that were covered up, situations of fellow female journalists, who had to face things similar to those that happened to me. […] Today the harassment is suffered by many of my journalist colleagues over social media, but also through emails and calls, where their own sources intimidate and classify and pigeonhole them and stigmatize them in order to delegitimize their reporting and their words. It’s constant. Cfr. Statement from Jineth Bedoya Lima given at the public hearing held on March 15, 22, and 23, 2021 within the framework of the 140th regular sessions. 68 Cf. Statement from Jineth Bedoya Lima given at the public hearing held on March 15, 22, and 23, 2021 within the framework of the 140th regular sessions. Specifically, Ms. Bedoya indicated that these figures date “to 2011, since 2009 I have led the organization No es Hora de Callar, which is focused on documenting cases of gender-based violence, both general gender-based violence and stigmatization and violence against women journalists.” 69 Cf. IACHR, Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. "Women Journalists and Freedom of Expression. Discrimination and Gender-Based Violence Faced by Women Journalists in the Exercise of their Profession,” supra, para. 16. Also see, United Nations Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, Report of the Secretary-General, A/72/290, August 4, 2017, para. 6. Likewise, Ms. Bedoya indicated that, currently, "the perception still persists that journalism is not an 'appropriate' profession for women, leading to significant social pressure on them to not enter the profession or to leave it." Cf. Statement from Jineth Bedoya Lima given at the public hearing held on March 15, 22, and 23, 2021 within the framework of the 140th regular sessions. 19