When Researching Extremism, Women Face Outsized Risks
To tackle terrorist and extremist movements, you have to understand them. Well-executed research can curb the spread of extremism in all its forms, countering its corrosive effects on democracy and on public safety. Insights can be gleaned from interviewing and observing groups directly or from analyzing online activity using open-source methods.
For researchers looking into extremist movements, the work is often high-risk and emotionally taxing. But because misogyny is intertwined with so many extremist movements, particularly ones associated with the far right, threats towards female researchers can be especially challenging. Headline stories about escalating, tech-fuelled online harassment towards women and real-life violence against women in public-facing roles only exacerbate concerns.
Thankfully, even against a backdrop of polarized politics and overt online hate, organizations can take steps to ensure researchers in the space are protected and continue to produce exceptional work.
How Researchers Study Extremism
Both organized political groups and decentralized networks are constantly finding new spaces to recruit and communicate. While extremism researchers have traditionally uncovered plots by white nationalist movements at meetups in bars and demonstrations, others have gone all-digital, unveiling ISIS propaganda efforts on TikTok accounts, decoding language on incel forums, and unpicking nihilistic, violent content geared towards children and young adults on Roblox.
“I lead a team of researchers looking into links between online threats and offline violence across the ideological spectrum,” says Katherine Keneally, the director of non-profit group Threat Analysis and Prevention at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD). “We look at the right, the left, Salafi jihadism, and a variety of single issues and conspiracy theories that don’t really fit into any box.”
“So, day-to-day, we’re engaging with online content coming from these communities using both quantitative and qualitative measures to identify trends for different audiences,” she adds.
By immersing themselves in these communities, researchers and analysts monitor and record narratives and recurring patterns to flag potential crises before they hit. Rather than being confined to any particular sector, extremism researchers work with journalists, NGOs, businesses, and governments.
Social media can intensify strongly held personal and political beliefs, and crisis after crisis has shown us that the potential for online behavior and threats to spill over into the real world is undeniable. In the UK, for instance, the media regulator Ofcom concluded that there was a “clear connection” between anti-immigrant, violent riots in Southport, England, in the summer of 2024 and online rhetoric. After three girls were murdered in the town, hundreds of protestors, led by far-right groups, clashed with police, looted stores, attacked a mosque, and set fires to vehicles for almost a week. ISD, Ofcom, and other organizations concerned with online safety, found that misinformation spreading online surrounding the identity of the killer, spurred on by far-right, anti-Islam narratives, incited protestors.
More recently, several shootings, stabbings, and suicides in Europe and the United States have been linked to youth-led, nihilistic violent extremism. These incidents can be especially difficult to track, as they often do not centre on a particular ideology, and children and young people can be both victims and perpetrators. Nonetheless, ISD has identified common themes, aesthetics, and language within these seemingly disconnected communities that can help proactively address potential radicalization and violence.
Researchers know that their skills can help to cut through the chaos and can have a genuinely positive impact on communities.
“A lot of the work that my organization and my team are doing right now is related to the threat of school shootings and doing research and analysis to be able to do something about it. [Open-source research] has such a high potential to make an actual difference for our society,” Keneally says.
The Chilling Effect of Online Harassment
Given how effective their work can be, researchers in the space, regardless of gender, can become targets, at risk of being subjected to doxxing, swatting, harassment, stalking, and physical violence. But the nature and intensity of the threats that women receive are particularly volatile.
Problems can start to arise when researchers and institutions share their work publicly.
“The work does not end when you get home. There are a few discussions on how to mitigate the risk of harassment and how to deal with it,” says Audrey Gagnon, an assistant professor at the School of Political Studies at the University of Ottawa whose research centers on national identity, far-right movements, and research ethics.
Women are disproportionately affected by online harassment overall. UNESCO found that 58 percent of women and girls globally said they have experienced digital violence, including trolling, being bombarded with sexual imagery, and stalking.
The risks rise for women working in public in all fields, with 73 percent of female journalists experiencing online harassment, according to the UNESCO report. The number of incidents involving the targeting of women in corporate executive positions also appears to be rising. According to recent research by the Security Executive Council, targeted attacks towards women in corporate roles doubled between 2021 and 2024, reaching a record high in 2025.
Harassment and trolling were the biggest concerns for the 17 female field researchers Gagnon interviewed. Researchers said that the abuse they received was more personal than that of their male counterparts, and it frequently included gendered, sexual insults and comments about their appearance.
Over time, repeated harassment can lead to disengagement and burnout.
“Even if the research is really important, it’s a job. If you’re constantly asking about the risk to your safety, of course people can disengage from their work,” Gagnon says. “Researchers might not want to appear in the media, or they might censor themselves. It’s a really worrying trend that can have significant implications for the quality of public debates.”
Why Misogyny Underpins Far-Right Movements
When female researchers investigate the far right, the stakes are especially high. Misogyny is a thread that runs through almost all groups on the far right. There is a focus on hypermasculinity, with men painted as possessing superior physical strength and intellect, and a preoccupation with enforced, traditional gender and family roles.
Over the past five years, experts have warned that Andrew Tate and other influencers within the manosphere are radicalizing young men into extreme misogynistic and overlapping far-right beliefs.
Having researched Canadian far-right movements for eight years, Gagnon wanted to understand the experiences of female field researchers. The researchers’ work typically involves interviews with activists or informants to learn recruitment tactics, the process of radicalization, and what motivates individuals to join or leave these groups.
One of the Boys: On Researching the Far Right as a Woman, a global research project Gagnon conducted with Tamta Gelashvili, found that many researchers said they were not aware of the dangers attached to the job. Aside from physical threats, frequent exposure to discussions about graphic, sexual violence could be traumatic, even if the comments were not directly aimed at researchers.
Others said they felt rushed to publish research and that conversations about safety were an afterthought. The emotionally draining nature of looking into the far-right movement as a woman was not fully understood by many of the researchers’ male counterparts.
Even if the research is really important, it’s a job. If you’re constantly asking about the risk to your safety, of course people can disengage from their work.
While many research group leaders encouraged people to come forward if they were struggling, junior researchers said they worried it could reflect badly on their performance and career prospects. To summarize one of the interviewees, confidence comes with job security. For women in senior roles, it was much easier to set boundaries and walk away from uncomfortable situations, Gagnon found.
Gagnon believes that as the far right’s influence spreads across society, the conversation needs to be much broader. Academics involved in any research that contradicts far-right beliefs could become targets. Scholars who have worked on COVID-19 vaccines, climate change, and gender have experienced heavy harassment.
When an individual is targeted, it can put the physical and psychological safety of everyone in their workplace at risk. In 2022, a professor and three of her students were stabbed during a gender studies class at the University of Waterloo, Ontario, in what police described as a hate-motivated attack.
“At university, you can no longer look up a professor’s teaching schedule, but it only happened after that incident,” Gagnon says.
Technology-Fueled Harassment
Advancements in technology have made online harassment even more intrusive and hostile.
The use of generative AI to create sexually explicit deepfakes of women, for instance, has become a legislative, global problem. Meanwhile, malicious software, social media monitoring, and tracking devices can all be used to stalk and intimidate victims.
Hanna Linderstål, CEO and founder of Earhart Business Protection Agency, based in Sweden, says that social media platforms have made the job of protecting people harder.
“We are digital citizens. Our cognitive landscape is owned by big tech, and we have no control whatsoever,” Linderstål says.
“Female politicians are leaving their posts, and journalists and researchers are held back in their reporting,” she continues. “Social media platforms have a big responsibility, because if they let hate flourish, it’s going to affect democracy and the future for everybody.”
She has frequently warned policymakers, businesses, and journalists of just how easily their digital footprints can be traced and exploited.
Linderstål says that some actors are particularly skilled in finding new opportunities to influence and manipulate investigations. If an extremist wanted to control a narrative, it would be easy to flood a researcher or journalist’s social media channels with multiple accounts pushing false stories and posts.
“Deepfakes are getting so good, and some of them can be done in real time,” she says. “So, I can attend riots, film them with my cellphone, and at the same time add some Nazi flags or whatever in the image and post it right away.”
Field researchers also need to be aware of how they could be tracked.
“There is a risk that an extremist group could see where you are travelling, who you are with, and what devices you have on you. We are leaving digital fingerprints everywhere,” Linderstål says.
Why Building a Culture of Trust and Safety Creates Better Research
Most teams specializing in extremism research prioritize the safety and well-being of their colleagues. It’s also a business incentive; investigations can be compromised if they’re not carried out safely and responsibly.
There’s no obvious shortage of women doing this work, and throughout her career, Keneally has seen a possible uptick in women entering the OSINT roles to analyze extremism.
“In both my roles at the NYPD Intelligence Bureau and at ISD, it’s been equitable across the board,” she says. “At ISD, I think we have more female analysts than males. It feels like an improvement from 10 years ago.”
Even for field researchers, there can be unexpected benefits to being a woman researching the far right. Some women found that they were perceived as less threatening, making access and intelligence gathering easier.
The experts Security Management spoke to were clear that bolstering women’s safety would benefit the research community at large and that their work should never be restricted.
While there’s no quick fix, Gagnon believes that organizations should take small steps to make the work less isolating.
“We don’t need to reinvent the wheel over and over again,” she says. “It’s about creating opportunities for researchers to talk about shared experiences.”
Encouraging senior staff and management to make the first move to check in on researchers can also make a difference.
Current guidance on dealing with traumatic content typically centers on self-care, including limiting exposure to the content, speaking with colleagues, and nurturing relationships and hobbies outside of work. The Global Center for Journalism and Trauma provides excellent resources for professionals working with a high volume of distressing online content and harassment. However, Gagnon believes that institutions, too, play an important role in supporting their employees.
“I’m all in favor of going for a run or taking a nice bath to relax, but these practices ignore the responsibility of the institution,” she says.
Encouraging everyone to take lunch breaks together at a set time, rather than alone at their desks, could help. Mandatory team building, group discussions, and training to understand how threats might be interpreted and received differently could also be beneficial.
“All these can be really easily implemented but foster this culture of trust,” Gagnon says.
She also stresses the importance of reframing and revising frameworks on risks to researchers and encouraging researchers to take the lead in setting limits.
“At the end of the day, it’s about finding what works for you,” she explains. “What are your limits? It could be around how you promote research, and whether you do media appearances, but it could also be about which groups you choose to investigate. As a white woman, I can set some distance in looking into white supremacist groups. If you have experienced racism, that is a lot harder.”
All of this depends on researchers receiving clear information about the risks at the start of their career. “It’s hard to anticipate everything, and this isn’t something that should be learned along the way,” Gagnon adds.
Meanwhile, Linderstål believes that absolutely everyone should have basic technical onboarding and cybersecurity training. That includes guidance on protecting digital footprints and signals while working in high-risk environments and making sure that security measures are consistently reviewed and updated.
“I do believe that everybody needs to have a basic cyber hygiene routine. Wash your hands, brush your teeth, and have control over your digital devices,” she says. “I work in the field of digital espionage; it’s never been easier to get information, and it’s not going to get better.”
Those working to counter extremism have said that it’s inevitably dangerous, but Linderstål believes that it doesn’t have to be.
“So often, I meet people in dangerous situations, and they say, ‘Oh, but that’s part of the job,’” she says. “It’s not supposed to be dangerous. That’s not a goal. The goal is to report the truth and do good stuff.”
Rachel Muller-Heyndyk is a British freelance investigative journalist and news reporter for the BBC and The Times. Her work often focuses on misinformation, technology, and extremist movements.
