SAMANTHA MADE
Newsrooms routinely investigate abuses of power in governments, companies and public institutions. Journalists question leaders, expose wrongdoing and provide platforms for survivors to be heard. Yet behind that public mission, media workers can face the same intimidation, silence and institutional failure that journalism is expected to uncover elsewhere.
A major international study on sexual harassment in the media examines this contradiction. Published in 2025, it draws on 2,878 media professionals in 21 countries and shows that newsrooms are not insulated from workplace abuse. Women carry the greatest burden, most incidents go unreported and speaking out does not always produce action.
An Ethiopian digital media editor described how mistrust kept her silent: “When I worked at a previous news organisation, I was sexually harassed by various colleagues and my boss on several occasions. The reason I didn’t speak up was because I knew I wouldn’t gain trust in the organisation.”
Produced by WAN-IFRA Women in News, BBC Media Action and City St George’s, University of London, the study covered sub-Saharan Africa, the Arab region, South East Asia and Ukraine. Its significance extends beyond its publication date because the structures it documents — unequal power, normalised behaviour, weak reporting systems and fear of professional consequences — remain enduring workplace concerns.
Africa at the centre of the study
Twelve countries surveyed were in sub-Saharan Africa: Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Their testimonies show how misconduct can become hidden within newsroom routines and professional relationships.
Nearly half of all respondents had experienced verbal sexual harassment. Women were considerably more likely than men to encounter verbal, online and physical harassment, while gender non-conforming workers also reported serious abuse.
Harassment can appear in editorial meetings, digital communication, field assignments and the informal spaces in which journalists build relationships with colleagues and sources. Inappropriate conduct may be disguised as humour, flirting or workplace familiarity, leaving workers uncertain whether anyone in authority will take it seriously.
A female radio journalist from South Sudan said familiarity between colleagues could make harassment difficult to recognise.
“It’s usually hard to identify harassment because it comes from people you know, like colleagues you trust and people in the newsroom you share ideas and stories with – they can start to flirt or sometimes touch inappropriately,” she said. “I found out recently that a lot of the things I go through at work are actually harassment.”
Silence shaped by fear
About two-thirds of respondents who experienced harassment did not tell their employers. Some feared that reporting would damage their careers or cost them their jobs. Others doubted their organisation would support them or had no formal mechanism through which to complain.
Silence, therefore, does not necessarily mean an incident was considered harmless. It can be a calculated response to an environment in which speaking out may expose a survivor to disbelief, retaliation, isolation or professional loss.
A Malawian digital media intern said she had never encountered training that gave journalists the knowledge needed to understand sexual harassment.
“I have also never seen the organisations I have worked with prioritising mechanisms and platforms where sexual harassment survivors can voice out their concerns whenever they face such experiences,” she said.
Power beyond the editor’s office
Perpetrators were not confined to management. Fellow employees were the group most frequently identified by those who experienced harassment, although supervisors and senior managers also featured prominently.
News sources were another significant group, extending the risk beyond the newsroom into interviews, assignments and professional meetings. Journalists often depend on officials, executives and community contacts for information and access. That dependence can make it difficult to challenge inappropriate conduct without fearing the loss of a source or assignment.
Witnesses also struggled to respond. Many who had seen a colleague being harassed did not tell their employer. Some feared the consequences, while others had been asked by the affected person to remain silent.
When colleagues do not feel safe enough to intervene and survivors do not trust internal systems, silence can protect the perpetrator rather than the person harmed.
Reporting without protection
Even reporting did not guarantee meaningful action. Roughly one in three respondents who informed their organisation said nothing was done.
Where employers responded, they most commonly warned the perpetrator. Some cases were dismissed after review, while alleged perpetrators were sometimes transferred. Counselling, emotional support and training were less common.
These measures may address an immediate complaint without repairing the damage experienced by the survivor or changing the workplace culture that enabled the behaviour.A male senior media manager from Zimbabwe identified the gap between having rules and enforcing them: “More could be done to equip the newsroom to use existing policies and have perpetrators held accountable.”
Policies without practice
More than three-quarters of respondents had never received training on sexual harassment. Many were unaware of whether their organisation had a policy, while others knew rules existed but had not been trained to understand or use them.
The study cautions that training alone will not resolve the problem. A presentation or policy has limited value when workers distrust the reporting process, investigations are inconsistent and managers are not held accountable.
Its recommendations include confidential and independent reporting channels accessible to permanent employees, freelancers and short-term workers. It also calls for counselling, medical and legal assistance, workplace adjustments, active-bystander training and greater protection for those working in high-risk settings.
The researchers acknowledge that the online survey was distributed through regional media networks, respondents could skip questions and participation varied between countries. Its findings therefore represent those surveyed rather than every journalist or newsroom.
Yet the African testimonies reveal patterns that media organisations cannot easily dismiss. As one female news executive in Rwanda urged: “Let’s keep breaking the silence on sexual harassment at work.”
