Tackling sexual harassment in the media in Africa

The MeToo era awakened the whole world to sexual harassment, not only in the entertainment industry where the allegations began, but also in the corporate spaces. Journalists report on chronicles of sexual harassment (such as MeToo) when they themselves have endured it. Jane Godia, the Gender, Development and the Programme Manager Women in News (WIN) for East and Central Africa, has studied sexual harassment in African media houses for years. In her presentation at the AWiM19 Conference in Nairobi, Ms Godia shared data on the prevalence of sexual harassment: according to a 2017 report from WIN, 64 per cent of women have been verbally harassed and another 10 sexually assaulted.

Delegates at the AWiM conference that took place in from July 25 to July 27 listening to Jane Godia make a presentation about sexual harassment

Jane also said that only a paltry 29 percent reported the abuse. This could be explained by the reaction that many women who report sexual harassment get. They are not believed, and the people they raise the concern with do not see it as a problem. When they appreciate it, they consider it a foreign problem.

Sexual harassment costs newsrooms a lot of money because the victims become less productive. The good news is WIN has some strategies on solving the challenge of sexual harassment. She elaborated those strategies below.

https://www.slideshare.net/AfricanWomeninMedia/confronting-sexual-harrasment-in-the-media

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Latest Blogs

TRAKD: Advancing the Kigali Declaration in African Newsrooms

Dinesh Balliah – Teaching Ethical Journalism and Breaking Barriers

Mwape Zulu Kumwenda – Championing Gender Parity in Zambian Media

Follow Us

10k

7k

45

34

69k

DR. YEMISI AKINBOBOLA

C.E.O & Co-founder, AWiM

Dr Yemisi Akinbobola is an award-winning journalist, academic, consultant and co-founder of African Women in Media (AWiM). AWiM’s vision is that one-day African women will have equal access to representation in media. Joint winner of the CNN African Journalist Award 2016 (Sports Reporting), Yemisi ran her news website IQ4News between 2010-14.
Yemisi holds a PhD in Media and Cultural Studies from Birmingham City University, where she is a Senior Lecturer. She has published scholarly research on women’s rights, African feminism, and journalism and digital public spheres. She was Editorial Consultant for the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 commemorative book titled “She Stands for Peace: 20 Years, 20 Journeys”, and currently hosts the book’s podcast.
She speaks regularly on issues relating to gender and media. In 2021 she was recognized as one of 100 Most Influential African Women.