More Than Half of Polish Female Journalists Report Suffering Sexual Harassment

Women march to protest against sexual harassment in Geneva, Switzerland, 07 May 2022. EPA-EFE/SALVATORE DI NOLFI

The research, which was based on both in-depth interviews as well as a quantitative survey, showed that in two-thirds of the cases the aggressor was the boss or someone in a superior position in the job hierarchy, while in only 18 per cent of the cases was the harassment actually reported to management.

"The woman who talks about the fact that she was harassed by her boss or a colleague in the newsroom will receive the label of informant and never get another job in the media - this is the general fear," explained one of the victims quoted in the report as to why the rate of reporting abuse is so low.

The report comes amid growing concern about the rising level of sexual harassment and other forms of violence being directed at female journalists in Central and Southeast Europe. In December, BIRN interviewed dozens of Greek female journalists who said they faced harassment and abuse in their work, describing also a culture of silence, stigma and fear which stops women from submitting complaints as well as the lack of clear rules on how such complaints should be dealt with. And earlier this month, just days after Slovakia marked the fifth anniversary of the murder of investigative journalist Jan Kuciak, the RTVS radio presenter Marta Janckarova received a barrage of death and rape threats following the broadcasting of her current affairs show.

The harassment cited by the Polish journalists interviewed for the report, whose accounts were kept anonymous, included unwanted touching of a sexual nature, being offered professional gains in exchange for personal relations, or receiving unwanted sexually explicit content in messages, among...