Most female journalists in Poland have experienced some form of sexual harassment during their careers, with 59% saying they have suffered it at least once, new research has found.
In 65% of those cases, the journalists said that the harassment came from someone in a more senior position. Only 18% who suffered harassment said they have reported such cases to their superiors and 30% decided to leave a job as a result of the harassment.
“Sexual harassment in the media is still a significant but invisible problem,” states the report, which was published this week by the Zamenhof Insitute, a think tank focusing on Poland’s media. Their research was based on both a survey of 268 female journalists as well as interviews with individuals who suffered harassment.
⭕️Molestowanie seksualne dziennikarek w Polsce już nigdy nie powinno być tematem tabu.
Na stronie https://t.co/CY9ub39xZo opublikowaliśmy dzisiaj raport dokumentujący skalę tego problemu w polskich redakcjach.
Dowiecie się z niego:
1/n🧵#offtherecord pic.twitter.com/95uRvv2Ose— Instytut Zamenhofa (@Zamenhof_pl) March 15, 2023
The women whose anonymous stories are presented in the report speak of both verbal and physical abuse – from inappropriate and clearly sexual comments in the workplace to unwanted touching, offers of career advancements for sexual services, and even rape.
The most common form of harassment experienced by respondents was verbal, in the form of vulgar jokes, sexual anecdotes and contemtuous comments about women.
But 39% of all the women surveyed said they had experienced inappropriate, unwanted touching and 26% suffered clearly sexual touching. Meanwhile, 14% reported having been offered benefits in return for sex, 13% experienced an attempt to force them into sexual acts while 5% were forced into sexual acts.
Among the minority of victims who had reported such acts to superiors, only 37% said that doing so had triggered a response from their employer. A similar proportion, 35%, said that no action was undertaken in response while 29% were unsure if there had been any consequences.
Students have protested at a leading Polish university, saying it "hushed up" claims that a prominent professor sexually harassed students for decades.
The university, which found the victims' claims "credible", says it took appropriate action in response https://t.co/ptgDcItvze
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) March 27, 2022
Almost half of the journalists (47%) said they had wondered whether they themselves were to blame for the harassment, while 26% said they had suffered depression, 18% had post-traumatic stress disorder, and 5% experienced suicidal thoughts.
In its report, the Zamenhof Institute presented a set of recommendations for witnesses, managers, and owners of media outlets in order to prevent and better deal with cases of harassment.
“We are aware that our report does not exhaust the subject of sexual harassment and violence experienced by journalists in Poland,” wrote the authors. But they expressed hope that it would prompt dialogue and further research that can lead to change
The institute’s survey was carried out by research agency Kantar among 268 female journalists who have worked in radio, television and online media over the last two decades. Additionally, 18 in-depth interviews were conducted with individuals.
MP @KotulaKat says the current head of the Polish Tennis Association sexually abused her as a child when he was her coach.
She came forward after Mirosław Skrzypczyński denied previous accusations against him based on the testimony of anonymous victims https://t.co/3cix0fmRKm
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) November 22, 2022
Agnieszka Wądołowska is deputy editor of Notes from Poland. She has previously worked for Gazeta.pl and Tokfm.pl and contributed to Gazeta Wyborcza, Wysokie Obcasy, Duży Format, Midrasz and Kultura Liberalna
