Dar es Salaam — Widespread economic doldrums and the rising wave of moral decay have forced an unprecedented number of female journalists into the trap of sexual bribery where they exchange sex for job offers.
According to the research, titled Sexual Harassment Among Women Journalists in Media Houses conducted by Tanzania Media Women Association(TAMWA)—a local charity working to protect women’s rights, the root causes include poor pay, professional incompetency which force women journalists to offer sexual bribery to secure their jobs, ethical misconduct, immoral behavior, lack of professionalism and abuse of office.
Moral Trade-off
The report, seen by Ubuntu Times found women in the media experienced sextortion a form of non-monetary bribes by senior editors and managers which exposed them to moral compromise to exchange sex for employment.
Widespread Phenomenon
Sextortion—a form of corruption that employs non-physical forms of coercion to extort sexual favors from a victim, is a serious problem in Tanzania.
People entrusted with power in organizations such as editors or educators often abuse authority to suit their sexual fantasies.
The survey which was conducted in Dar es Salaam suggests, 48% of the respondents faced sexual discrimination at work, while 52% refused to comment on the matter which is a crime according to Tanzania laws.
Culture Of Shame
A culture of shame widely embraced by society has made it increasingly hard for victims to come forward, according to women’s rights groups.
Speaking to reporters in Dar es Salaam two weeks ago TAMWA’s Monitoring and Evaluation Coordinator, John Ambrose said the survey involved freelancers, journalists with short-term contracts, and trainee reporters.
The research, which involved senior editors, media managers, journalism colleges, and non-governmental organizations, revealed some incompetent female journalists often lure their bosses for sex to get favors, and in other cases, editors force trainee reporters into sexual affairs.
“Most female journalists are incompetent but since they still want to retain their jobs, so they’ve to seduce their bosses to protect their jobs,” the survey finds.
Inappropriate Relations
The findings further say the problem is largely fuelled by trainee reporters since most of them are often jostling to establish inappropriate relations with senior editors in the hope to get employed upon completion of their studies.
“Most female reporters find themselves caught up in sexual trap whenever they want to enter in a radio or TV studio,” the survey says.
Rose Reuben, TAMWA’s Executive Director, however, said sexual bribery does not only affect female reporters but also male journalists who find themselves entangled in a dangerous moral trade-off.
“Many female journalists experience this problem but they don’t think it’s cause for concern, I ask them to raise their voice against this social malady,” she said.
Researchers have recommended the enactment of a clear-cut gender policy that explicitly spells out sexual corruption as a violation of human rights.
According to her the policy on sexual bribery in newsrooms and frequent reminders should help in resolving the problem.
As part of efforts to fight sexual harassment at work, Tanzania’s Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB), recently launched a special campaign to raise awareness about the dangers of sexual corruption.
Under the banner of “kataa rushwa ya ngono,” Swahili meaning, “reject sexual corruption,” trained officials were scheduled to educate people on how to avoid the social malady.
A Criminal Offense
While sexual bribery is criminalized in Tanzania, campaigners say the law is too weak to deter perpetrators who often pay fines and walk scot-free.
Section 25 of Tanzania’s anti-corruption law of 2007 states: “Anybody being in the position of power or authority, who in the exercise of his authority, demands or imposes sexual favours, or any other favours on any person as a condition for giving employment, a promotion, a right, a privilege, or any other preferential treatment, commits an offence and shall be liable, on conviction, to a fine of not exceeding five million shillings or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or both.”
In Tanzania, where nearly nine in every 10 women have experienced sexual harassment, activists say awareness campaigns against it can potentially raise the momentum to curb it.