Female journalists in Zimbabwe’s newsrooms are grappling with a wave of cyber-bullying and harassment, significantly impacting their career growth, according to Media Institute of Southern Africa Zimbabwe chairperson, Golden Maunganidze.
“As we commemorate the 16 days of activism against gender-based violence, we take this opportunity to raise awareness of Resolution 522, which ensures positive steps towards significant reduction of digital violence against female journalists,” Maunganidze said.
Resolution 522 affirms the fundamental right to freedom of information and expression under Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights.
It calls for legislative review and measures to combat all forms of digital violence, safeguarding female journalists.
A study by Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom titled: “Sustaining Media Freedom for Female Journalists in Zimbabwe” reveals alarming statistics.
According to the study, 86% of women who responded to the online survey indicated facing some form of violence while on duty.
It said online violence against female journalists has been increasingly.
In a survey of female journalists in Zimbabwe, 50% of respondents indicated that they had faced online violence many times.
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A Gender Media Connect 2021 study said 73% of female journalists noted they faced hostility.
They raised concerns over a culture that is abusive and language that is suggestive.
According to the Zimbabwe Republic Police, 26 females were killed by partners in 2022, and 31 recorded, so far, in 2023.
The current annual figures show men as the primary perpetrators, with 16 444 reported cases of female abuse from January to October 2023.
Speaking at the event, Faith Zaba, editor of the Zimbabwe Independent shared her experience.
She said there was misuse of social networking sites to attack prominent women, including politicians and journalists.
“We can no longer allow it to go unchecked. Sexual harassment has been cited as one of the reasons deterring female journalists from joining main stream media and staying long in the newsrooms” she said.
Such attacks often laced with misogyny and insidious undercurrent of sexualisation are nasty and harsh — a reflection of society that does not want to accept women in positions of power and influence, Zaba said.
Zaba is the first female editor of the business weekly.
Speaking on behalf of Women's Affairs minister Monica Mutsvangwa; Francis Gonda, chief director of enterprise and community development emphasised the importance of legislative adoption to combat all forms of digital violence against women.
“Implementation of (Resolution 522) will require us to adopt legislation that aims at combatting all forms of digital violence, and expanding the definition of gender based violence to include digital violence against women including cyber-harassment, cyberstalking, sexist hate speech among other violations,” he said.
