Eight in ten female journalists in Fiji experienced direct sexual remarks and jokes from fellow employees according to a study by the Fiji Women's Rights Movement in coordination with the University of the South Pacific.
"Prevalence and Impact of Sexual Harassment on Female Journalists: A Fiji Case Study" revealed that more than 80 percent of female journalists experienced workplace sexual harassment.
Fiji's Women's Rights Movement director Nalini Singh said the country's media industry must act to address sexual harassment against female journalists.
Nalini Singh is Director of the Fiji Women's Rights Movement. Photo: Supplied/FWRM
According to the research released by the movement, there is a high prevalence in the media workplace with 35 of 42 respondents reporting sexual harassment.
Singh said work policies need to be implemented.
"Media organisations must adopt a zero-tolerance policy against sexual harassment in the workplace, and the due process for processing complaints must be promptly so as not to continue the harm, to not continue to keep the toxic environment in the workplace."
She said most sexual harassment occurred from people in power.
"The most common sources of harassment were experienced from businessmen, followed by politicians and community leaders, and that's astounding because this is exactly the kinds of things that we're saying in the women's movement, that violence against women which sexual harassment in the workplace is all about power," she said.
She proposes educating schoolchildren about the problem but said there is pushback.
"I do not know why there is such hesitation in terms of bringing in school education so that you know, young people, when they grow up do not practice this bad behaviour and continue to perpetuate which leads us to have very high prevalence rates so we have to start young," Nalini Singh said.