Field Work Harassment Against Women Journalists in Islamabad
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.64060/IJPSSD2V1i2Keywords:
Women journalists, harassment, Islamabad, qualitative research, thematic analysis, gender inequalityAbstract
The current study looks at the harassment of women journalists during fieldwork in Islamabad. It puts this issue in the larger context of Pakistan's social, cultural, and professional environment. Women reporters face both physical and psychological harassment, which impacts their safety, confidence, and careers. The system has flaws, such as barriers within the culture that encourage silence and under-reporting, although laws exist. A qualitative study methodology was employed in this study, where in-depth and face-to-face interviews were conducted with female reporters in different media houses in Islamabad. The thematic analysis contributed to the formation of insights among these women as to their experiences with harassment in the workplace and in the field. The study centered on their socioeconomic status, forms of harassment, coping and reaction of their institutions. The findings show that the primary sources of harassment are male dominance and cultural barriers leading to an atmosphere of discrimination and fear. According to the respondents, mental pressure, loss of confidence and stagnation of their careers were the consequences of the harassment since women tended to doubt their professional devotion to journalism. There was also a problem of underreporting; most reporters did not file complaints because of stigma, fear of reprisals and a general lack of support by their organizations. The analysis finds that addressing the problem of harassing women journalists needs to be done on multiple levels.
References
Adnan, M., Ali, A., & Aslam, S. (2019). Economic issues and ethical journalism in Pakistan: Prospects and challenges. Global Social Sciences Review, 4(1), 11–22.
Ahmed, A. (2019). Journalism in Pakistan: A risky profession. Academic Track Reader, 144.
Ahmed, D. S. (2006). Zeb un Nisa Hamidullah. Mirror Publication.
Ali, F., & Kramar, R. (2015). An exploratory study of sexual harassment in Pakistani organizations. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 32(1), 229–249. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10490-014-9380-1
Ali, M. Y., & Kaur, K. (2015). Journalism 2.0: Journalist view about media information service trends in Karachi, Pakistan. Chinese Librarianship: An International Electronic Journal, 39, 40–51.
Aslam, S. B., Malik, M. A., & Khan, M. A. (2023). Gender and cyber communication: A systematic literature review of challenges faced by women in Pakistan. Global Language Review, VIII(1), 174–183.
Awan, M. S., & Hussain, Z. (2007). Returns to education and gender differentials in wages in Pakistan. Lahore Journal of Economics, 12(2), 49–68.
Bareke, C. (2019). Challenges of journalist to conduct investigative reporting: The case of Oromia Broadcasting Networks (Doctoral dissertation, Addis Ababa University).
Barling, J., Rogers, A. G., & Kelloway, E. K. (2001). Behind closed doors: In-home workers’ experience of sexual harassment and workplace violence. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 6(3), 255–269. https://doi.org/10.1037/1076-8998.6.3.255
Barton, A., & Storm, H. (2016). Violence and harassment against women in the news media: A global picture. International News Safety Institute.
Batool, S., Qadri, F. A., & Amir, M. A. (2022). Social media and women empowerment: A digital feminist analysis of “Watch Us Rise” by Watson and Hagan. Journal of Social Sciences Review, 2(4), 9–18.
Bell, S. E., & Braun, Y. A. (2010). Coal, identity, and the gendering of environmental justice activism in Central Appalachia. Gender & Society, 24(6), 794–813. https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243210387277
Berdahl, J. L., & Moore, C. (2006). Workplace harassment: Double jeopardy for minority women. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91(2), 426–436. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.91.2.426
Berdahl, J. L., & Raver, J. L. (2010). Sexual harassment. In S. Zedeck (Ed.), APA handbook of industrial and organizational psychology (Vol. 3, pp. 641–669). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Bhatti, A., & Ali, R. (2022). Negotiating sexual harassment: Experiences of women academic leaders in Pakistan. Journal of International Women’s Studies, 23(1), 263–279.
Bowd, K. (2018). Keeping their distance? Navigating the complexities of journalist-public relationships in the social media age. Australian Journalism Review, 40(2), 93–105.
Castilla, E. J. (2011). Bringing managers back in: Managerial influences on workplace inequality. American Sociological Review, 76(5), 667–694. https://doi.org/10.1177/0003122411420814
Chadha, K., Steiner, L., Vitak, J., & Ashktorab, Z. (2020). Women’s responses to online harassment. International Journal of Communication, 14, 239–259.
Chan, D. K.-S., Lam, C. B., Chow, S. Y., & Cheung, S. F. (2008). Examining job-related, psychological, and physical outcomes of workplace sexual harassment: A meta-analytic review. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 32(4), 362–376. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.2008.00451.x
Charles, M. (2014, June 4–5). The working situation of Southern African journalists. Paper presented at the Integrity and Corruption in the Media Conference, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Clarke, V., & Braun, V. (2013). Teaching thematic analysis: Overcoming challenges and developing strategies for effective learning. The Psychologist, 26(2), 120–123.
Collingworth, L. L., Fitzgerald, L. F., & Drasgow, F. (2009). In harm’s way: Factors related to psychological distress following sexual harassment. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 33(4), 475–490. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.2009.01524.x
Cortina, L. M., & Berdahl, J. L. (2008). Sexual harassment in organizations: A decade of research in review. In C. L. Cooper & J. Barling (Eds.), Handbook of organizational behavior (pp. 469–497). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Digital Rights Foundation. (2017). Measuring Pakistani women’s experiences of online violence: A quantitative research study on online gender-based harassment in Pakistan. Islamabad. https://digitalrightsfoundation.pk/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Hamara-Internet-Online-Harassment-Report.pdf
Endres, F. F. (1988). Stress in the newsroom at Ohio dailies. Newspaper Research Journal, 10(1), 1–14.
Fedler, F. (2004). Insiders’ stories: Coping with newsroom stress—A historical perspective. American Journalism, 21(3), 77–106.
Fraser, D. E., & Martineau-Searle, L. (2018). Nature and prevalence of cyber violence against women and girls. VAWG Helpdesk Research Report, 211, 1–27.
Gill, R., & Toms, K. (2019). Trending now: Feminism, sexism, misogyny and postfeminism in British journalism. In Journalism, Gender and Power (pp. 97–112). Routledge.
Hadi, A. (2018). Workplace sexual harassment and its underreporting in Pakistan. European Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, 4(1), 148–153.
Harding, S. (1991). Whose science? Whose knowledge? Thinking from women’s lives. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
Iqbal, I. (2022). Violence against media personas: A comparative study of women journalists in Pakistan and England. Journal of International Women’s Studies, 24(1), 10–28.
Jacobs, P., & Schain, L. (2009). Professional women: The continuing struggle for acceptance and equality. Journal of Academic and Business Ethics, 2, 1–8.
Jamil, S. (2020). Suffering in silence: The resilience of Pakistan’s female journalists to combat sexual harassment, threats and discrimination. Journalism Practice, 14(2), 150–170. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2019.1703650
Mantilla, K. (2015). Gendertrolling: How misogyny went viral. Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger.
Martin, F. (2018). Tackling gendered violence online: Evaluating digital safety strategies for women journalists. Australian Journalism Review, 40(2), 5–17.
Parveen, R. (2010). Violence against women in Pakistan. Aurat Foundation.
Pryor, J. B. (1995). The phenomenology of sexual harassment: Why does sexual behavior bother people in the workplace? Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 47(3), 160–168.
Sadruddin, M. M. (2013). Sexual harassment at workplace in Pakistan: Issues and remedies about the global issue at managerial sector. Journal of Managerial Science, 7(1), 113–125.
UN Women. (2010). Safe cities free of violence against women and girls initiative: Report of the baseline survey, Delhi 2010. Jagori and UN Women.
UNISON. (2008). Harassment at work. http://www.unison.org.uk/acrobat/17763.pdf
Women Media Center Pakistan. (2015). Women in journalism: Problems and prospects in Pakistan. http://www.wmcpk.org/wp/wpcontent/uploads/2015/01/women-in-journalism.pdf
Zia, A., Batool, S., & Yasin, Z. (2016). Women harassment at workplace: A study of Pakistani television channels. Global Media Journal: Pakistan Edition, 9(1), 1–15.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Ifra Mahmood, Aneeqa Nawaz , Gullalie Anum Khan (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
