The newsroom is not a safe place for women journalists

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Despite several cases of rape and attempted rape, physical assault, subsequent unfair dismissals and all sorts of bullying tactics used against women in some Zimbabwean newsrooms, the response by authorities including the police has been lukewarm. Most often little or no action is taken against offenders.

There are many documented cases by different media houses; but the response of the state-owned Zimbabwe Newspapers Group (Zimpapers) provides ample example of the forms of violence women are subjected to. Privately owned media houses are not any better.

In August 2004, a Midlands State University student on attachment alleged that a superior at the Herald had followed her to a function in Chitungwiza, drove to her flat and then to his cousin’s flat where he allegedly attempted to rape her. He tried to do the same when he escorted her to her home in Sunningdale on a different day. The case was reported and a written report submitted to the Herald management.

In another case a senior male editor with the same paper, assaulted a female journalist in the newsroom on July 10, 2005. This happened in the presence of fellow employees. The incident was reported to the police. The Zimbabwe Union of Journalists (ZUJ) also intervened by writing to the editor, copied it to the general manager and Chief Executive officer. ZUJ also wrote to the Information Minister all of whom are yet to respond.

However there appears to be insufficient work place policies and legislation that can decisively deal with perpetrators of violence in newsrooms. There are several lawsuits between Zimpapers and two female journalists and individual cases are pending. In all cases no action has been taken. One reason for this lack of action is because Zimpapers’ disciplinary code of conduct gives no alternative punishment if found guilty other than a dismissal. But the problem arises when management is reluctant to dismiss these managers for whatever reason.

For instance, in the first case, there was a demonstration by workers over the issue but nothing was done about it. Nothing has happened to this editor as he is still employed at the newspaper.

In the second case all the senior editor did was pay an admission of guilt fine. Management took no action against him while the woman journalists’ contract was terminated a few weeks later. The editor’s arrogance has been such that he is on record as having threatened other staff saying that he will deal with them in the same way if they turned against him.

The level of violence at this media stable had become so bad that the ZUJ sought intervention from the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Transport and Communication. A dossier was presented to the committee chronicling some of these incidents. But we wait to hear what action will be taken including the timeframes in which the matter will be handled.

While most of us are aware of some of these abuses the question still remains as to what an be done to ensure that justice prevails and timeously for that matter. Media house policies should have specific timeframes in which cases must be heard so that such matters cannot be swept under the carpet.

Because of the victimisation that follows there are many women in the newsrooms who are not as brave as the two sited above and tolerate unacceptable work environments. “What? You want me to get fired? What will I eat after that?” or “You don’t know that man!” are some of the remarks one hears from hapless female journalists. They make excuses to justify not reporting the abuse they may be experiencing because they fear losing their source of income. It is clear that even if they know their rights, exercising them is futile because the consequences are not always in their favour. So what are they to do in the face of this lack of support for their rights as employees and women?

The answer for women seems to be: stay away from the newsroom! The harassment of women in the newsroom has led to many women shying away from working in this environment, while many of those who remain, continue to be subject to unfair practices. Some may beg to differ and argue that there are more women joining the media fraternity. However, if we look closer one realises that in a good number of cases, their stints are short and they soon venture into alternative fields of employment such as public relations. This has contributed to silencing women and limiting their ability to have a voice as journalists. There is a need for gender and media activists in Zimbabwe to undertake research on violence against women in newsrooms and to tackle this issue head on ... before there are no women left in these spaces.

Loveness Jambaya is the Zimbabwe country representative of the Gender and Media Southern Africa (GEMSA) Network. This article is part of a special series of commentaries on the Sixteen Days of Activism Campaign produced through the Gender Links Opinion and Commentary Service that provides fresh views on everyday news.

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