Sexual harassment is prevalent in media industry, although it is either downplayed or not formally treated.
In a study released by WAN-IFRA Women in News in partnership with City, University of London, Kenya is leading in sexual harassment in the media in Africa at 56 per cent.
The report, which was carried out from November 2020 to September 2021, surveyed more than 2,000 individuals and included interviews with 85 senior executives.
The organisation defines sexual harassment as unwanted and offensive behaviour, of a sexual nature, that violates a person’s dignity and makes them feel degraded, humiliated, intimidated, or threatened.
It includes verbal (through conversation), nonverbal (actions and noises at a distance), physical (physical pressure or force) and rape.
The research indicated that across Africa, many people kept back from filing reports because they were afraid of losing their jobs, of retaliation and of being negatively labelled.
“The research highlights a lack of trust in the organisation, or sometimes complete failure of management and systems, to deal effectively with sexual harassment,” said Melanie Walker, WAN-IFRA’s
The report says there is need to change the normalization of sexual harassment in the newsroom and make necessary efforts to recognise the extent and put in place plans to provide a safe environment for media processionals.
“It all starts with a conversation on what is and isn’t acceptable behaviour in your media organisation being explicit about sexual harassment sharing definitions, what behaviour are unacceptable, and communicating the right for every employee to be treated equally.
It is ironic how media houses and media personalities have been used to campaign against the vice yet on average of 1 in 2 women have faced sexual harassment at work.
It is not enough to have a policy; staff and manager should be trained on what the procedures are for making and managing a complaint.