The function that was attended by scores of journalists, representatives from the ministry of Women’s Affairs, Gender and Community Development, Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Union, Police Victim Friendly Unit and Padare, was held at a local hotel in the capital.
Addressing guests, the NewsDay editor Constantine Chimakure described sexual harassment as a form of discrimination and indicated that it was still rife in the media fraternity. He said its legal definition is “Unwelcome verbal, visual or physical conduct of a sexual nature that is severe or pervasive and affects working conditions or creates a hostile work environment.”
He said victims of sexual harassment should stand their ground and speak out in order to help curb this problem. Said Chimakure: “Conduct is not sexual harassment if it is welcome. For this reason, it is important to communicate either verbally, in writing or by your own actions to the harasser that the conduct makes you uncomfortable and that you want it to stop. If women are sexually harassed and do nothing, then this will further encourage perpetrators to continue to prey on women at the expense of our profession”
He said there was need for women to shun fear when reporting sexual harassment, adding that they should not hesitate to name and shame the culprits that have tarnished the image of the noble profession.
“I believe that if we have reports from women exposing perpetrators, it will help to significantly curb this cancer that is eroding women’s emancipation in the newsroom,” Chimakure said.
Chimakure noted that one of the reasons why female journalists were more at risk of sexual harassment compared to their male counterparts could have been necessitated by the fact that the proportion of women in newsroom is six times less than men and that women are under-represented in most areas of work. This is according to a media survey carried out in southern Africa in 2009.
“According to a report entitled Glass Ceilings: Women and Men in Southern African Media, men constituted 87% of employees in media organisations,” he said. “Women in Zimbabwean media houses are under-represented in most areas of work, they are found in higher proportions in support roles in areas considered “women’s work”. These include advertising and marketing.
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Quoting US President Barack Obama, Chimakure said: “Let us tackle sexual harassment in the newsrooms without fear or favour. Let’s name and shame the perpetrators.”
Justice and Legal Affairs minister Jessie Majome, who also addressed guests at the launch, blamed our highly patriarchal society for trampling on upon sexually harassed females.
“When a woman is sexually harassed, society is more comfortable and tries to cover it up, but when the same woman loses a purse, society is swift to react,” she said.Sexual harassment, Majome said, is clearly as a result of our patriarchal system. She said those in positions of power are abusing their power by subjugating their colleagues, especially women.
“In our patriarchal society, women are viewed as the weaker sex. In the media, women are such a minority in the newsrooms, they predominate the minority,” she said.
Majome noted that the female journalists in this country, though qualified and experienced for the job, are still struggling to be elevated to the positions of editors. “Because of unequal power relations, we continue to view women as sex objects, ownership and control of media houses by women in Zimbabwe was one. There are no female editors at the newspapers in this country,” she said.
She said any sex offense of any kind is totally unacceptable and urged delegates to start thinking differently if the problem of sexual harassment is to be eliminated.ZUJ secretary-general Foster Dongozi said sexual harassment had become a cancer in newsrooms. He said the union has since received numerous testimonies from victims.
Perpetrators are our colleagues in the newsrooms, or the news sources. Journalists must speak against harassment of this nature — if it remains unchecked, it will drive away good journalists.
Dongozi said sexual harassment was one of the evils among many that continue to stifle the growth of journalism including poor working conditions, low salaries and repressive laws.
One of the victims who gave her testimony was Federation of African Media Women — Zimbabwe acting co-ordinator and former ZTV news anchor, Nyaradzo Makombe. Narrating her painful ordeal, she indicated that she went through a torrid moment at the hands of her former boss, who at one time, passed a sexually suggestive comment while drooling, much to their colleagues’ laughter. This, she said, unacceptable and denigrating to her as a female employee.
