What Will Our Legacy Be: Power, Violence and Silence in Newsrooms
In the series Succession, the youngest son of media mogul Logan Roy sexually harasses the head of his father’s media corporation. Although she makes it clear that his behaviour is unacceptable, the harassment only ends when his father finds out about it. The scene vividly illustrates how power relations can influence whether harassment is recognised and stopped.
Although the story is fictional, the problem it portrays is very real. This is confirmed by the research conducted as part of the Women in the Media project, in which researchers from Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina examined patterns of harassment and violence against women in the media industry.
The research revealed the alarming scale of the problem. As many as 78.38% of female respondents had experienced at least one form of gender-based violence, while 65.84% had experienced sexual harassment. One third of respondents had experienced sexual harassment involving physical contact. The perpetrators were most often colleagues and superiors.
The research also showed how widespread violations of labour rights are. The most common violations concern the right to rest and rights established by employment contracts. More than 40% of female respondents said that the most frequent violations already occur at the beginning of their careers, when tolerance of such behaviour can become established as something »normal«. A gender pay gap was also identified.
Female respondents often described newsrooms as toxic working environments in which a culture of abuse and harassment prevails. Women are frequently treated differently from men when assignments are allocated and their work is evaluated, with their appearance, clothing style and private lives also becoming criteria for judgement. At the same time, fewer than 10% of women working in the media in the four participating countries report attacks and violence at all.
The reasons for not reporting include fear of the consequences, fear of losing their jobs and a lack of trust in protection mechanisms. As one journalist put it in the research: »We work in a profession where we fight for everyone’s rights, except our own.«
That is why the Women in the Media project does not stop at researching the problem. An interdisciplinary team of experts has developed a Rulebook on the Prevention of Sexual and Other Forms of Harassment in Newsrooms, which provides media organisations across the region with a model for establishing effective protection mechanisms. The Rulebook includes both preventive and responsive measures and applies to everyone working or collaborating with media organisations. The Rulebook is publicly available on the project website.
This autumn, the second phase of the awareness raising campaign is beginning. The Trade Union of Croatian Journalists, Mediacentar Sarajevo, Trade Union of Culture, Art and Media »Nezavisnost« from Serbia, the Slovenian Association of Journalists and lead partner Zavod Krog will continue presenting the research findings, advocating for the adoption of the Rulebook by media organisations and raising awareness of violence and harassment in media workplaces.
The campaign message remains clear: »Not in My Newsroom.« We are addressing the wider public with the message: »Power Does Not Give You the Right.«
The aim of the project is to contribute to media workplaces where workers are protected, reporting mechanisms are effective, and a culture of silence is replaced by a culture of accountability and respect.
The Women in the Media project is implemented in Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina with co-financing from the European Union under the CERV – Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values programme.
Adapted from an article by Emil Čančar (Trade Union of Croatian Journalists). Read the full article here.
Photo: AI-generated
This text was prepared as part of the project "Ending workplace harassment in the media industry in Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina - Women in the Media" with the financial support of the European Union.
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