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| Photo: WOJAG Members. |
By Ousman A. Marong
Women Journalists
Association of the Gambia (WOJAG) in partnership with the Gambia Press Union
(GPU) has on Friday 24 January 2020 validated the sexual harassment policy
bill.
The policy seeks to end the
happenings of sexual harassment in the workplace.
The objective of the policy
is to serve as a framework for the presentation, correction, and protection
from sexual harassment and actions to promote gender equality in the media.
The policy is part of the 12
month project that was secured by the Women Journalists through the GPU with
funding from UNESCO.
Speaking at the validation
ceremony held at Tango Conference hall, Fatou Touray delivering a keynote
speech on behalf of WOJAG President Sarjo Camara said “This policy will help
each and every one of us to be able to report on sexual harassment in the media
industry.,”
She said the bill is about
addressing the unacceptable act in the media by breaking the silence through
reporting perpetrators.
“All complaints of
harassment will be taken seriously and be treated with urgency and respect as
well as with confidence. No one will be victimized for making a complaint,” she
remarked.
She urged journalists to
critically scrutinize the document and share the information saying the document belongs to all journalists.
She hailed UNESCO and Gambia
Press Union for supporting the initiative.
In her part, Maimuna Sidibeh, Principal Officer UNESCO
revealed that quite numbers of women newspaper journalists in the county are
sexually harassment and this harassment ranged from degrading comments to
physical sexual assault.
She said the increasing number of sexual harassment of
female journalists is a cause for concern adding that when the draft bill is passed
would serve as a warning tool to end all forms of sexual harassment in
newsrooms.
She further revealed that there have been instances
where superiors demand “sex” from their young employees.
She said the most vulnerable people to such act are
the newcomers into the profession before they can be given assignments or even
have their stories published?
She cited the IFJ
statistics to reveal that “at least one in every two journalists suffered
sexual harassment, psychological abuse, online trolling and other forms of
human rights abuse”.
“Workplace discrimination had denied many competent
female journalists their deserving right to move up the ladder or even to cover
very important beats for the political or economic departments of the media
houses. Most of these beats or assignments are often given to male journalists
some of whom are not as competent as their female colleagues in the same department,” she noted.
She challenged publishers to adopt the bill and abide
by its rules and conduct.
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