‘Female journalists’ safety a priority’

Sunday Mail Reporter

LAW-enforcement authorities will continue pursuing measures that guarantee the safety of female journalists as the country prepares for next year’s harmonised elections, national police spokesperson assistant commissioner Paul Nyathi has said.

He was speaking during the Safety and Security Awareness breakfast dialogue held last Tuesday and organised by the Gender and Media Connect.

He said media stakeholders need to draw up sustainable operational guidelines to help stop the abuse of female journalists.

“The issues of safety and security of female journalists are very fundamental,” he said.

“The police and other responsible stakeholders need to do something so that these issues are addressed once and for all.

“As police spokesperson, l receive a lot of reports regarding harassment of female journalists and it’s high time we stop this.

“People need to know that journalism is not a crime, but a profession like any other.”

Speaking during the same event, ZANU PF director for information and publicity Cde Tafadzwa Mugwadi commended the Second Republic for opening up the media sector. “President Mnangagwa has reformed media laws to ensure that they clearly reflect that journalism is not a crime,” he said.

“As a party, we have followed that reform to say that we cannot continue to be a closed society.  I am sure everyone knows that in the past it was difficult for certain media to engage Zanu PF.

“But that has all changed now.”

Swedish Workplace HIV and Aids Programme director Mrs Ethith Mziofa Tapfuma said media organisations should provide the necessary support to female journalists.

“We want to come back to the newsroom and look at how we can protect the young people coming to our workspaces so that the newsroom can be a safe place,” she said. “The Industrial Psychology Consultancy looked at the types of violence and harassment that we experience in Zimbabwean workplaces and a lot of the issues are not only driven by gender dynamics but by our economic context.

“The vulnerability is always among the younger people who are the graduates, interns and attaches.”