Female journalists set up Second Source group to tackle harassment

Nisaa FM:- Leading female journalists have set up a network to tackle sexual harassment in the media industry.

The Second Source, is aimed at promoting awareness of abuse in journalism, and hopes to work with organizations to encourage change across the industry.

The group was set up following the scandal surrounding the Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein. It will inform women of their rights and provide support in a male-dominated industry.

Rosamund Urwin, a columnist at the Evening Standard, said she had helped set up the group after learning that other women had also suffered harassment. “I realized that unless we act, nothing will change,” she said. “It will happen to the 23-year-old of tomorrow, as it once happened to me.”

Megha Mohan, a broadcast journalist, added: “As journalists we’re meant to hold people to account, yet there’s often an uncomfortable culture of silence when it comes to bullying and harassment in our profession.”

The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said he was concerned about sexual abuse in journalism: “The harassment some women journalists have faced in the workplace is appalling – and it is the responsibility of all of us to challenge it and call it out. This needs to be a turning point.”

“I strongly support the women journalists who have come together to create the Second Source. We must do everything we can to ensure women are able to speak out and have their concerns properly investigated.”

Maria Miller, the chair of the Women and Equalities Select Committee, said harassment was widespread, but she hoped that a culture change would ensure. “Sexual harassment and sexual abuse should have no place in our society, but in practice two-thirds of girls at school, half of all women students in higher education, and more than half of all female employees in the workforce have been subjected to harassment,” she said. “I welcome this new campaign to tackle sexual harassment in journalism and its ambition to bring about a culture change in the industry.”

Jo Swinson, deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats, said it was important to recognise problems in the media industry, as well as in other sectors.“Sexual harassment is sadly a problem in every industry, but I’m optimistic that the media revelations about Hollywood and politics in recent weeks can become a positive catalyst for change,” she said. “For all the justified media outrage about sexual harassment in other workplaces, the media must recognize it needs to act on its own harassment problem too.”

Source: www.theguardian.com