DEAD SEA — A clear definition of the term sexual harassment, more solidarity movements, and the empowerment of women to speak up against the issue were some of the solutions discussed on Sunday at the “Harassment of Women Journalists in the Arab world” panel held as part of a forum hosted by Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism.
The panel, which was moderated by Fatemah Farag, MENA director for Women In News, saw the participation of female media professionals from Lebanon, Tunisia, the US and Palestine.
The panellists spoke about their personal experiences and highlighted why harassment, both sexual and non-sexual, is still prevalent in the news world nowadays.
Lack of role models
With a majority of male role models in the newsroom, “young women journalists have to learn by themselves through trial and error, but this can be very painful and costly sometimes”, said Lebanese Alia Ibrahim, co-founder of Daraj, a pan-Arab news site.
She continued: “Back when I started working, I would have loved it if someone came to me and told what to do, not to do, what to wear and not to wear…”
The former senior correspondent for Al Arabiyya news channel encouraged younger journalists to find female mentors they can learn from.
“A man mentor will not know what to tell you … they can’t even tell you what to wear on the field,” she stressed.
Harassment by sources
The panel also shed light on the types of harassment that can occur on the field and by sources for a story.
“Women journalists often don’t speak against [these harassments] and are obliged to tolerate it because they need the source,” said panelist Bahija Belmabrouk, an investigative reporter at the Tunisian African News Agency.
She said that, when the reporter is in need of vital information, a source can easily put her in a “tense situation”, where he becomes the one with more power.
“He might tell her, let’s meet at my office after working hours, when everyone has left; with sources, it is often a trade-off: you give me this and I’ll give you that,” she said, adding that most of these incidents go unreported.
Younger journalists as targets
“Fresh graduates are the ones most vulnerable to harassment,” said Ruba Anabtawi, a Palestinian journalist.
“Sexual harassment rates are very high among student journalists, freelancers and those with temporary contracts; they are in vulnerable positions and often have to accept this behaviour because they need the job,” Belmabrouk noted.
“By the time you are 35 or 40 years old, you start to realise how you should be dealing with harassment, but, by that time, you are no longer being harassed, not because you are no longer appealing but because men know that you will not put up with it,” said Elisa Munoz, executive director at the International Women’s Media Foundation.
Protection of the harasser
During a Q&A session, participants discussed the aftermath of an incident being reported, focusing on the MENA region.
“As soon as a woman complains about sexual harassment in the work place, the first blame is on her: how she dresses, how she behaves and how she talks,” Belmabrouk said.
Women from the audience shared their personal experiences of filing a complaint in the Arab world.
“When I complained about my senior colleague’s inappropriate behaviour, the senior management told me to let go of this issue because the man had a wife and young children, and, if I went forward with my case, I would be slandering the reputation of that man,” a Yemeni journalist recalled.
“If we don’t have women in power in the newsroom, women will continue to be harassed because men will always believe that they won’t complain, and even if she complains, the matter will be silenced by a male superior,” Anabtawi said.
Why change is important
“Around 20 years ago, if someone made an inappropriate comment, your parents or those around you would brush it off as saying, ‘it’s because you’re so pretty and they just like you’. Today, it is different as women will not let things slide by,” Anabtawi said.
The panel expressed their pride to see this issue addressed in an open dialogue, stressing the need for women to protect themselves.
“What happens when women journalists are harassed? They leave the news field, and what are you left with? All the same people telling the news. There must be a diversity of voices. When women leave the news, it involves society and we should do something about it,” Munoz insisted.
