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FAMWZ
condemns alleged sexual harassment of intern at Zimpapers
Federation
of African Media Women of Zimbabwe (FAMWZ)
August 21, 2004
The Federation
of African Media Women Zimbabwe (FAMWZ) strongly condemns the recently
reported sexual harassment of a Midlands
State University journalism student by an editor at Zimpapers
(The Standard, August 1, 2004).
As an organisation
that advocates and fights for the rights and interests of media
women in Zimbabwe, FAMWZ finds this incident unfortunate especially
as the alleged perpetrator is a senior staff member whose role is
to mentor and protect those under him.
Such incidents
also contribute to the difficulties women face in the newsrooms,
which are heavily skewed in favour of men. This is not only improper
and unprofessional but also flies in the face of gender balance
initiatives that we, as part of the women's movement, have been
lobbying for.
We hope that
the Zimpapers management will fairly and impartially investigate
this matter and, should the said editor be found guilty, we look
forward to necessary punitive measures being taken against him.
Like any other
workplace, newsrooms have an obligation to recognise and protect
the rights of female journalists to work in a free and enabling
environment without harassment or fear of victimisation. We, therefore,
continue to invite all media houses to partner with us our fight
against discrimination, victimisation and harassment of women in
all sectors of society.
FAMWZ commends
the student for bringing the case to the attention of the relevant
authorities. We would like to urge all women and men, not only those
in the media, to expose such practices as we all fight to make our
workplaces safe and comfortable for all.
Visit the FAMWZ
fact
sheet
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