photo: Anete Lusina/CC0/Pexels- 59% of surveyed female journalists have suffered sexual harassment at least once
- 39% experienced unwanted touching or attempted touching, causing discomfort
- 26% were touched in an unambiguously sexual manner against their will
- 14% faced suggestions of benefits in exchange for sexual submission
- 13% were subjected to attempts to force sex or other sexual acts
- 5% experienced sexual intercourse or other sexual acts against their will.
The report shows that the perpetrators of sexual harassment in journalism are most often superiors or individuals in higher positions than the victim - this is the case in 65% of incidents. This publication is the result of one and a half years of work by institute experts and researchers, along with specialists from Kantar Public, who helped conduct the survey on a sample of 268 female journalists in Poland.
- In this project, we wanted to give women a voice and, on their behalf, present stories of harassment that they had never spoken about before. This is the first study on sexual harassment in Poland, which we hope will bring attention to the problem, spark a substantive discussion, and prompt publishers to develop standards for handling such situations - comments Nikola Bochyńska, board member of the Zamenhof Institute and co-author of the report.
- The #Offtherecord project creates a space for journalists to share the taboo of discrimination and sexual harassment, a safe space they haven’t had before. I am deeply grateful for their courage and for all the support we received in creating this project - adds Natalia Żaba, co-author of the report.
The report`s authors also questioned major Polish media companies about their procedures for handling harassment cases in the newsroom. Only a few media companies provided the Zamenhof Institute with policies applicable to their employees.
How images hack your brain? 60,000 times faster than words! 👇
- We were surprised that so many large media companies, including public broadcasters, completely ignore this problem and lack internal procedures allowing, for example, anonymous reporting of sexual harassment or protecting the harassed individual - says Paweł Prus, president of the Zamenhof Institute and co-author of the project. - Our research shows that one in three harassed journalists changed jobs because of this. Publishers who ignore or don’t want to recognize the problem of sexual harassment lose valuable employees as a result.
The stories of journalists described in the report can be explored in full on the platform offtherecord.zamenhof.pl and the complete report can be downloaded: “Off The Record: Sexual Harassment of Female Journalists in Poland”.
The report’s authors are: Nikola Bochyńska, Paweł Prus, and Natalia Żaba, with co-authors Piotr Drabik, Bogna Kietlińska, Urszula Krassowska (Kantar Public), and Martyna Mucha (Kantar Public).
Project partners include: Kantar Public, Havenocode.io, Loewen Legal Hub, Sexed.PL, Propsy PR, and Tech to the Rescue. Media partners are Forbes Women and Newsweek Polska.
COMMERCIAL BREAK
New articles in section Law in media
Dietary supplement ads in Poland. Who keeps influencers in check?
Newseria, KFi
One in three Polish internet users considers influencer recommendations when deciding on medicines and dietary supplements. Although promotion of such products is regulated, there are still cases of advertising that skirt the law.
SEO Poisoning. Hackers Use Search Engines to Target Businesses
Piotr Rozmiarek
Search engines help us quickly find information, but they can also be used by cybercriminals. SEO poisoning is a tactic where attackers manipulate search engine rankings to place harmful websites at the top of search results.
Phishing in the Cryptocurrency Industry. Fake Recruitments Steal Data
Piotr Rozmiarek
Security researchers have detected a social engineering campaign targeting job seekers in the Web3 industry. The attack aims to conduct fake job interviews via a meeting application that installs information-stealing malware.
See articles on a similar topic:
Harassment of Female Journalists in Poland. Zamenhof Institute Report
RINF
Over half of female journalists have experienced harassment. The report and a dedicated website for the project, offtherecord.zamenhof.pl, present real, anonymous stories of harassed female journalists, along with numerical data documenting the scale of the issue.
Cyberwarfare on the Internet. The ESET Report
KF
Governments, corporations, and even the education sector are becoming targets of advanced cyber attacks. The report for the period from October 2023 to March 2024, prepared by ESET, sheds light on the intensification of activities by Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) groups, which conduct espionage, sabotage, and destabilization operations in key sectors on behalf of states.
Online Hate in Numbers. What Do We Think About Offensive Comments?
KFi
Nearly 70% of adults have encountered online hate. The group most affected includes individuals aged 18-24, with 81% reporting exposure to hateful content - according to the report "Hate on the Internet," prepared by the polish Foundation "W zgodzie ze sobą" in cooperation with Maison&Partners and the Ariadna research panel.
Cyber Threats 2023: Phishing Dominates, AI Targeted
Krzysztof Fiedorek
The CERT Orange Polska 2023 report reveals a rapidly evolving cyber threat landscape. Phishing has taken a decisive lead, accounting for over 44% of reported incidents. Advanced social engineering techniques, deepfakes, and a surge in malicious ads lure users with promises of quick profits or easy opportunities.




























