This is just to say thank you to Lara Logan for her courage and for speaking out, even indirectly.
If you have not read it yet, Lara Logan, CBS chief foreign correspondent, was sexually assaulted by a mob in Cairo as she was reporting on the protests.
In my daily job I am working with female journalists from the Eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo and we produce a program on justice and women’s rights, broadcast in North and South Kivu. We report regularly on sexual violence, we interview victims of rape, women who have been sexually harassed at their work place, abused by their husband… But once in a while, the camera turns around and it is my incredibly strong colleagues that are the one attacked. What do you do then? Who will report on it? The truth is, being a female journalist in DRC (like in many countries across the developing world) equates in people’s mind to “being easy”. Most of the time the assault is “only” verbal, psychological, but this get to you almost just as much. My Congolese colleagues tell me because I am a woman and I am outspoken about it, but if I had been a male producer they would never have dared.
I have not worked for very long as a foreign journalist and was never in a situation of the magnitude Logan had to endure, but in barely two years there have already been too many “incidents”. Yet no one ever mentioned that risk to me when I was completing my master in international journalism. I took classes in conflict reporting, went on a hostile environment training, we had lectures by leading experts in the field of security for foreign journalists, but no one mentioned this. I remember a famous female war reporter giving a talk to my class and telling us she never had any problem being a woman in a war zone. Good for her. But for the rest of us it seems to actually be an issue from time to time.
What exactly should be the answer is unclear, certainly female journalists should not be kept away from reporting on particular stories. After all, kidnapped, injured or traumatized war correspondents do not lose their job. But it would be nice to just be able to talk about it without fearing to lose the next big assignment. It would be nice to receive the same support journalists get when they are traumatized by other accidents. It would be nice to receive advice on how to avoid those situations and how to deal with them afterwards. In recent years, post-traumatic stress also known as PTSD, has increasingly been recognized as a serious consequence for foreign journalists reporting on conflict and witnessing atrocities. We should also break the silence on sexual assault – on men and women.
I guess there is no solution to this “added” risk female journalists encounter in war zones. Except maybe for carrying on doing the job, relentlessly, and bringing to the world the other side of the story, the women side. Female journalists are targeted because women are not equal to men in too many parts of the world. We can change that, but we need to talk about it.
I don’t have much to say about this, except perhaps the obvious: first of all, that what happened to Ms. Logan was unspeakable and repulsing, and secondly that this taboo should be lifted and spoken of freely.
That being said, this should not keep editors from sending women journalists in the field.
One last piece of useless advice: Melanie, do watch yourself out there.
In a similar vein to you, ProPublic’s Kim Barker published a piece on the Huff Post this morning.
In my experience, it is true that the female part of being a female foreign correspondent often feels like another hurdle to overcome- in addition to language barriers, cultural sensitivity, knowledge etc. But there are things that female journalists do better eg, talking to female rape victims, and things that their male counterparts to better- identifying with male front line troops. These differences need to be recognized, openly discussed and embraced – otherwise the banner of gender equality that the West dances under is no more than a veil, not disimilar to the hijab that has become a symbol of gender inequality that must be spurned, attacked and irradiated by the West.
Sexual violence has been recognized as a weapon of war and conflict – and men and women, the rich and the poor, the educated and the illiterate can all be its victim. That means journalists too.
I completely agree with what you say Melanie, and I think what happened to Logan is inexcusable –whether she was a journalist or not. But I can’t help but find the media’s coverage of it slightly offensive; stuffed with clichés and journalese, and a rather “how could this possibly happen to a journalist of a *Western* outlet” attitude. As you say, your Congolese colleagues often recount stories of “only” verbal assault, and scores of non-Western female journalists probably endure violence we can’t even imagine on a daily basis. Perhaps I’m being naive, or maybe I’ve missed the point, but why must it take a pretty blonde for people to notice and for the debate to start?
Anyway, on a more relevant note, I think training for women in dangerous zones, like conflict training, should be given more widely. Perhaps even self-defence classes for women who are posted to risky areas, should they want to take it.
Another point — what about all those photographers, male or female, who are most likely to get hurt or killed in war or conflict zones? Tens of photographers, including one from AP, were beaten up by police in Egypt but didn’t get a third of the attention.
The problem with war reporting in general is that it still carries a rather machismo attitude. Women don’t want to report harrasment out of fear that they will not be sent back.
Men, on the other hand, don’t turn down postings to life threatening places, sometimes against their better judgement, out of fear of being thought of as “wusses”, and hence not sent back.
If there’s going to be an honest, open discussion on this topic it shouldn’t be about women vs men, or photographers vs print journalists (who, in very dangerous situations have the opportunity to report from inside a newsroom/hotel etc), or whatever. It should be about journalists being allowed to do their job.
Xavier: I will do my best, thanks!
Annabel: completely agree with you, as I said in the post, female journalists can bring stories that are not accessible to men, the “women side” of the conflict. I believe women journalists (foreign or local) create a positive circle by becoming role model for other women and reporting on issues of women rights they can help improve women’s condition and therefore make it easier for future generations of journalists to do their job, unharmed.
kt: will suggest to my boss that we all get taekwondo lessons
As long as women continue to be sexually objectified they become “objects” and “playthings” in some societies. I think the world reacted the way it did to Lara Logan’s assault because they ‘know’ her. They ‘know’ who she is, that she is married with a child, what she does, her personality, etc. So there’s a familiar face behind the assault. I don’t think it’s because they care more for Logan than they would for a female journalist in Congo – for example. Until someone knows the person beyond the “object”, it’s easy to be stereotyped. Bottom line, the more women (famous or otherwise) speak up, the better it is for women in general, and of course female journalists too.
I agree, Dom, she’s a mini celebrity.
And Mel — I can see it now: 1o-11am How to write headlines. Break. 12-1pm: taekwondo!
LOL, will post a video of that!
More seriously, the Committee to Protect Journalists posted this interesting response to questions on why they do not document sexual violence against journalists. In short: because no one talks about it.
http://cpj.org/blog/2011/02/documenting-sexual-violence-against-journalists.php
I hope those of you who will recognise me will respect my privacy, because I have not written on this topic before.
I don’t know whether it is more of an issue for female international journalists than for local women? I suspect it varies depending on where, and who you are, as well as a host of other factors; nationality, skin colour and how exposed you are to being alone in situations where it sexual assault can occur, or where, as in some parts of the world, the culture seems to have become inured to it.
As a photojournalist who worked and played in Africa, and mainly travelled solo I have been what is euphemistically deemed ‘sexually assaulted’ three times there. Two were avoidable date-rapes, and I like to put them down to the result of cultural misunderstandings. I considered myself partially at fault and, my inherent dislike of becoming the news, shock, embarrassment and the potential consequences of reporting the people involved, meant I chose to not to report them at the time.
I found out later that not to do so was folly, had I done so straight away I could have got access to the terribly named ‘protease inhibitors’ anti-retroviral drugs, which research suggests may help prevent the transmission of HIV if taken soon enough. Instead on both occasions where I needed to, I waited until my return to the UK and reported in confidence at the Hospital for Tropical Diseases in London.
Both experiences were traumatic and involved long frightening waits for the, thankfully negative, results of HIV tests. But, under the circumstances, I consider myself very fortunate indeed that neither involved a mob of 200, extreme violence, a weapon or an STD.
I don’t regret my time in Africa and, although I have some very bad memories as well as the good, I am have returned many times since and will, I hope, do so again soon. I also hope and believe my life experience has made me a more empathic and understanding trauma interviewer.
I would also like to point out that I have been flashed at several times on tubes and trains around the UK, and had an attempted sexual assault by a laughably young man on a tube staircase in London.
I do not believe it is possible to avoid all of the comments, the gropes and harassment in places like Egypt. Nor do I believe that all Egyptian / African men are inherently disrespectful to women. But to avoid my mistakes here are some common-sense suggestions, which are not exhaustive and which I confess to not always following myself.
1)Try to buddy up if you can on assignments in strange places, where possible with a male, you could wear a wedding ring and say he is your husband. As a minimum if you are going alone on a first meeting brief a colleague or friend as to where you are going and make a plan to call in.
2)Research which areas are safe to walk in alone when operating in a new city (World’s Most Dangerous Places used to be good for this) but also ask local staff and colleagues.
3)Dress appropriately and ask colleagues to point out if you forget. When knackered and travelling on short stops between relatively permissive countries it is easy to forget. I have been guilty in the past, when, my senses dulled by not-yet-diagnosed glandular fever, I caused chaos for a male journalist who I was staying with by walking through Cairo’s backstreets in a short-sleeved top, jeans and boots that would not have looked out of place on Shakira. Fortunately for me my journalist friend spoke Arabic and managed to intercede on my behalf so I came to no harm, except feeling like a prize idiot for almost getting him into a fight later.
4)To avoid misunderstandings learn some key phrases of the language, even just enough to yes and no, please go away, help, and to say you are sorry you don’t speak it. Be polite and respectful.
5)If you are staying in hotels try and get a room where you have to walk past reception and I rarely use room service.
6)If you are staying in ghettos then try and stay with a family.
7)Don’t go out alone to little bars with strange men at night (unless you can easily and independently get transport out) and if you do, don’t drink / smoke more than you can handle, or better don’t drink /smoke at all (you may find it is not what you were expecting).
8)And it is probably second nature to you but never, ever, put yourself in the position of sleeping alone in the same room as a strange man, even if you are fully clothed. Or of going somewhere with a group of strange men.
9)And vary your routine / route home. I remember a particularly vile attack on an NGO worker who lived a street away from me in a city in Africa,where a gang followed the unfortunate woman into her flat after she arrived back from an evening out and violently sexually assaulted her until the morning.
Also do have a plan for if you are unlucky enough to fall victim to a similar situation, and that plan should involve going to the smartest hospital possible, getting on the anti-retrovirals quick, getting an HIV test and another after 3 months, and seeing a trauma counsellor to discuss it all afterwards.
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Thank you for sharing your story VL, and for your advices. I will certainly keep them in mind. I hope you do get to go back to Africa and keep mainly nice memories of it.
Annabel Symington just published this very good piece in the Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.com/annabel-symington/female-journalists-and-se_b_825761.html
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