We couldn't report him to himself: How journalists in Africa are fighting newsroom sexual harassment
Fear of job loss remains the biggest barrier to reporting sexual harassment in the media. However, a growing movement of journalists is proving that collective action can force change, even when the abuse comes from the very top.
What you need to know:
- The fear of reporting is real, even though sexual harassment remains prevalent in the media. A 2025 study offering a global overview of sexual harassment in newsrooms confirms this.
- The study found that the two most common reasons for not reporting harassment were fear that it would negatively affect respondents' work (cited by 20 per cent) and the absence of reporting mechanisms in their organisations (cited by 19 per cent).
In Malawi, a human resources manager at a media house verbally sexually harassed a female colleague in the newsroom corridors. Her female colleagues heard the remarks. Instead of looking away and minding their own business, they united to confront the boss.
"Of course, there was no way we were going to report him to himself, since in our media house sexual harassment cases must be reported to the human resources manager, yet he was the perpetrator. We had to find another way of solving the problem," shared a journalist from the media house during a global seminar last week in Kigali, Rwanda.
Convened by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, UN Women, the Inter-Parliamentary Union, and United Cities and Local Governments, the meeting brought together journalists and democracy experts from around the world. Apart from discussing how journalism can strengthen women's and young people's participation in leadership and decision-making, participants also examined the challenges they face in the newsroom.
Unfortunately, the colleague feared losing her job and pleaded with her fellow journalists not to confront him. While they respected her decision, other colleagues informed the human resources manager that he was about to be ambushed by the female employees. From then on, he kept his distance and stopped the verbal abuse.
In Zambia, however, journalists have found a more effective way of addressing barriers to reporting such cases. Angela Chishimba, Gender Editor at the Zambia Daily Mail, a government-owned newspaper, said their media house has an independent committee instead of requiring staff to report directly to the human resources manager. The committee is mandated to receive complaints, investigate them, and take the necessary action.
In Kenya, a disturbing case was shared where a middle-level supervisor in a broadcast unit allegedly pimped interns to his senior boss. Unfortunately, staff knew what was happening but remained silent to protect their jobs. The journalist who shared the case eventually left after securing another job, hoping the abuse had stopped.
However, Mildred Ngesa, a communication consultant, warned against remaining aloof while colleagues suffer, regardless of their position in the newsroom.
"When you keep quiet, you are giving perpetrators the power to hurt one journalist today, another tomorrow, and another after that. Until you put a stop to it, they will never stop," she said. "You must remain firm in pushing back against sexual harassment. If the boss is the abuser, then the boss reports to another boss. Report them to that person. Don't allow yourself to keep quiet or look away when your colleague is being harassed."
The fear of reporting is real, even though sexual harassment remains prevalent in the media. A 2025 study offering a global overview of sexual harassment in newsrooms confirms this. The study found that the two most common reasons for not reporting harassment were fear that it would negatively affect respondents' work (cited by 20 per cent) and the absence of reporting mechanisms in their organisations (cited by 19 per cent).
The study was conducted jointly by the World Association of News Publishers and Women in News, in partnership with City St George's, University of London, and BBC Media Action. Researchers surveyed 2,878 media professionals across different job levels in 21 countries spanning Sub-Saharan Africa, the Arab region, Southeast Asia, and Ukraine.
Respondents included 1,630 women, 1,090 men, 67 gender non-conforming individuals, and 91 people who preferred to self-describe their gender identity.
Among all respondents, 45 per cent identified verbal sexual harassment as the most common form of harassment they had encountered in media workplaces. However, there was a pronounced gender divide: nearly 60 per cent of women respondents said they had experienced verbal sexual harassment at work, compared with 25 per cent of men, making women 2.4 times more likely to face it.
When it came to perpetrators, fellow employees accounted for the largest share at 34 per cent. Power dynamics also played a role, with 16 per cent of respondents attributing the abuse to direct supervisors and 13 per cent to higher management.
The researchers recommended strengthening independent sexual harassment reporting mechanisms that are accessible to everyone working in the media sector. "Journalists' unions and media associations in particular can play a key role in offering independent sexual harassment reporting mechanisms and support services for survivors," they said.
