Violence in the Newsroom Is Not “Just a Women’s Issue”

Women who experience sexual harassment in newsrooms need designated trusted officers — but even more than that, they need people they can trust.

When I first became acquainted with the key findings of the research on sexual harassment and violence against women journalists and media workers, and every time since when I have opened any of the documents produced through the project »Ending workplace harassment in the media industry in Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina – Women in the Media«, I have felt — and continue to feel — disturbed.

In fact, deeply disturbed.

Recognising the scale of what is happening, I have to ask myself: what can we expect from newsrooms, or from journalism, that oppresses its own female employees?

That unnamed person who commented on a colleague’s appearance, made inappropriate remarks, told suggestive stories and crude, sexist jokes — did so from the position of a colleague or a manager, while those in charge failed to react, let alone impose sanctions. And all too often, it does not end with words, but escalates into more serious forms of harassment and abuse.

And when I realise just how widespread all of this is — that these are not merely isolated incidents, since four out of five female colleagues have experienced some form of gender-based violence and two out of three have experienced sexual harassment — my unease calls for action and provokes only one response:

Enough is enough!

Not every word that causes someone distress is simply part of the job. Not every sentence that makes someone afraid is a particular kind of humour. And nothing unacceptable — whether it comes horizontally from colleagues or vertically from superiors — should have to be tolerated simply because otherwise it may be impossible to advance professionally.

After all, we are already in the second half of the third decade of the 21st century.

Civilisation has progressed considerably since the early days of journalism and the establishment of the first newsrooms. What was once a predominantly male journalistic world — in which someone like Marija Jurić Zagorka was seen as little more than an exotic exception — is now largely a world of women, although women are still mostly absent from the higher levels of the hierarchy.

We also have conventions, laws and rulebooks. Yet, as a rule, they remain dead letters on paper.

By the time slow-moving mechanisms are set in motion, designated officers are alerted, committees are formed and all the circumstances are established, the woman who experienced harassment or violence may already be far away from the newsroom — and from journalism altogether.

It is therefore essential to clearly point to the responsibility of managers and supervisors — editors-in-chief, editors and those leading shifts — as well as media owners, to prevent unwanted behaviour and respond immediately when it occurs. They must create conditions that guarantee safety for every woman and every man they employ.

Those colleagues who did nothing, who remained silent or buried their heads even deeper in their computer screens or mobile phones, continue working in an unhealthy environment. A newsroom in which harassment is tolerated is not merely an unsafe workplace. It is, in fact, a bad newsroom, because fear, silence and the abuse of power inevitably undermine professional standards, trust and the quality of journalistic work.

Turning Away Is Easy. Speaking Out Is Much Harder.

Unfortunately, four out of five surveyed women who experienced some form of harassment or violence never reported it to anyone. Why?

They do not trust those to whom they could report a case. They do not expect sanctions or any real change. Nor do they expect understanding from their working environment. Returning to the newsroom can bring gossip and isolation, because, after all, they are expected to have »a thicker skin«.

Any attempt to fight back in such circumstances is undermined from the very beginning, while the perpetrator simply continues doing what they have always done — casually hugging female colleagues, touching them inappropriately or showing explicit photographs of intimate parts of their body, or openly demanding sexual favours in exchange for an employment contract or a higher salary.

This is precisely why all employees need designated officers responsible for protection against harassment, defined in the way set out in the Rulebook on the Prevention of Sexual Harassment in Newsrooms — people with the necessary knowledge and skills, as well as the reputation, integrity and independence required for such a role.

But even more importantly, they need people they can trust: colleagues who will not pretend that they have heard or seen nothing except the tips of their own shoes; people who will stand beside them and say loudly what has already been said:

Enough is enough!

It is easiest to turn away, focus on your own work and avoid making a fuss. Much harder — but also fairer, more honest, more collegial and more humane — is to take a stand and make your position clear. Not merely to disapprove silently, but to speak out.

After all, that is the essence of journalism: to question everything that needs to be questioned and to challenge anyone in a position of power who abuses that power. Where is a profession heading if it allows itself to be degraded and destroyed from within?

And instead of saying, »I don’t want to cause problems,« or »I need this job,« perhaps we should ask ourselves:

Do I really want to work in such a newsroom and for such an employer?

Journalists choose this profession and remain in it largely because they see it as a calling and because they love what they do.

It is also a fact that journalism is underpaid, employment is unstable and journalists are constantly under pressure. Precisely for this reason, we should expect journalists to want to improve their profession, rather than witness its decline. There are already enough attacks coming from outside. We should not allow attacks from within as well.

Journalists, too, can look at this problem from another perspective: they themselves are often targeted by powerful people; journalism is an insecure profession; and now, on top of everything else, their female colleagues carry an additional burden.

It is therefore up to them to share that burden, reduce it and help remove it — rather than think, »This does not concern us; these are women’s issues.«

This is not a »women’s issue«. This is an issue of media freedom.

There is something else that becomes clear: we must not pretend to be dead to the uncomfortable and unacceptable situations happening around us. Research shows that such situations are numerous, as are the perpetrators. They threaten women’s professional integrity and mental well-being.

A working environment in which it is shameful to report abuse, but not shameful to be an abuser, is simply unacceptable. And we must not remain silent about any of it — neither inside such toxic environments nor outside them. Only in this way can we try — and, I believe, succeed — to make harassment and violence against women journalists visible, encourage women to report it and ensure that those responsible sanction the perpetrators.

In the end, women in the media who have experienced some form of gender-based violence simply because they are women should not be the ones walking with their heads bowed.

The abusers should.

Becoming Aware of Just How Widespread the Problem Is

Ultimately, this is not only about sexual harassment and gender-based violence in the media.

That became clear to me when I gained insight into all the findings, and especially when, with the same terrible sense of unease I have already mentioned, I read the testimonies of female colleagues. I was aware that the problem existed, but I was nowhere near aware of just how widespread it really was.

I could only wonder how such newsrooms can exist — and how, in most cases, little or nothing is done to change such an environment. There is no professional freedom where fear exists, just as there can be no quality journalism in an environment that demands silence or encourages people to look the other way.

Rulebooks can be useful, especially when they are clearly and precisely written, as is the case here. But while reading this document in detail, I found myself asking:

What if the old practice continues?

What if those responsible in the newsroom formally accept the document, only to leave it at the bottom of a drawer or in a folder labelled:

Do not open!

It is precisely those people who need to be shown that problems cannot be pushed into drawers or swept under the carpet; that solidarity is stronger than hierarchy and dignity more important than salary or career advancement. And that all of this is one way of creating a media environment in which reporting violence is an act of professional responsibility, rather than merely an act of personal courage.

The original version of this article was published by Mladen Obrenović (Mediacentar Sarajevo) and is available here.