The Hidden Challenges Behind the Camera

Many media women in East Africa have discovered that feeling safe behind the scenes is just as important to empowerment as being heard on television. Beyond deadlines and breaking news, many women in East African media encounter obstacles behind the camera and microphone.

Workplace harassment in media remains a persistent and structural challenge. While women make up a growing share of the media workforce, leadership positions remain disproportionately male-dominated. According to UNESCO’s global media monitoring findings, women occupy less than 30% of senior management roles in media organizations worldwide a pattern reflected across many African countries.

But representation alone does not guarantee safety.

Across East Africa, studies and regional media reports show that harassment both physical and digital remains widespread in newsrooms and field reporting environments. Globally, a 2021 UNESCO survey found that 73% of women journalists have experienced online violence, including threats of physical or sexual assault. Many of these attacks later escalated offline.

And yet, most incidents never formally reach human resources or regulatory bodies. International Labor Organization (ILO) data shows that only about one in five workplace harassment cases are reported, meaning nearly 80% remain undocumented.

Silence is often driven by fear, fear of being labeled difficult, fear of lost opportunities, and fear of retaliation.

Workplace Harassment in Media: A Persistent and Underreported Reality

Many young journalists enter the profession passionate and ambitious. But they quickly learn that navigating power structures can be just as demanding as covering a political rally or breaking story.

Research by organizations such as the Association of Media Women in Kenya (AMWIK) and regional gender studies initiatives highlights that Kenyan female journalists frequently face verbal harassment, inappropriate messages, online abuse, and pressure from individuals in positions of authority.

Younger professionals are particularly vulnerable.

Ensuring women journalists safety requires acknowledging that harassment is not isolated misconduct it is often embedded within institutional culture.

Why Silence Persists

When women experience harassment, the burden often shifts unfairly onto them.

Should they speak up? Should they endure it? Should they risk escalation?

Many choose silence not because they accept the behavior, but because they are protecting themselves.

Workplace hierarchies make reporting complex especially when the perpetrator is a supervisor, a source, or someone influential in the industry. Without confidential reporting channels or institutional support, women calculate risk before they act.

Documentation becomes critical. Preserving messages, keeping detailed records, and reporting when safe are protective steps recommended by global workplace safety guidelines, including those outlined under ILO Convention 190 on violence and harassment in the world of work.

But individual resilience alone cannot dismantle systemic problems.

Learning from Progress: What Is Working in East Africa

While challenges persist, there are encouraging examples across the region where women and allies are driving change.

The Association of Media Women in Kenya (AMWIK) has created mentorship networks, gender-sensitivity training programs, and safe peer-support spaces. These initiatives help women share experiences without judgment and strengthen their confidence in reporting misconduct.

Some Kenyan media houses have established internal gender committees to provide alternative reporting channels outside direct supervisors. This reduces fear of retaliation and increases trust in the system.

Regional partnerships with WAN-IFRA have introduced gender-sensitivity training in newsrooms, equipping staff with tools to recognize, prevent, and respond to harassment.

These examples show that reform is possible when institutions commit to accountability rather than image protection.

Change requires structure not just statements.

Practical Steps Toward Women Journalists Safety

Progress demands action at every level.

For Young Media Women

• Document incidents safely and promptly.

• Seek mentorship within women-led professional networks.

• Familiarize yourself with workplace policies and national labor protections.

• Strengthen digital security practices to protect against online abuse.

For Colleagues and Bystanders

• Intervene safely when witnessing inappropriate behavior.

• Offer visible support to colleagues experiencing harassment.

• Report patterns collectively to strengthen accountability.

For Newsroom Leadership

• Establish confidential and accessible reporting mechanisms.

• Enforce zero-tolerance harassment policies aligned with international standards.

• Conduct regular gender-sensitivity and power-dynamics training.

• Protect employees from retaliation when they report misconduct.

For Media Institutions and Regulators

• Collect and publish disaggregated data on harassment cases.

• Strengthen whistleblower protections.

• Promote women into leadership roles to rebalance power structures.

Harassment weakens organizations. Accountability strengthens them.

From Silence to Safety

If you are a young woman journalist entering this field, know this: your voice deserves protection as much as it deserves amplification.

Empowerment is not only about speaking boldly on screen. It is about creating environments where women can report, investigate, and lead without fear.

Media institutions demand transparency from governments and corporations. They challenge injustice in society.

But credibility begins internally.

We cannot normalize silence. We cannot treat harassment as an individual inconvenience rather than an institutional failure.

The transition from silence to safety requires documented policies, enforced accountability, visible ally ship, and structural reform.

Safety should not depend on bravery.

The call is now:

Examine your newsroom’s policies. Make reporting systems stronger. Stand beside women who speak. Do not downplay harassment.

The stories we tell and the safety of the women who tell them will determine the media landscape in East Africa in the future.

The existence of harassment is no longer the question.

The question is this:

Will we create media environments where women no longer have to pay silence in order to fit in?

SHE Centre is here to help you.

Find your community at SHE Space. You were never meant to do this alone.

Under the SHE Journey Shelf, find downloadable resources and tune into The SHE Podcast to find yourself in someone else’s story.

Connect with our partner organizations who are ready to walk alongside you in this season.

Author: Stella Nthenya