Put in place measures to protect female journalists — Media owners told

Renowned Ghanaian media icon, Mrs Eyram Bashan has charged owners of media houses in the country to invest in the protection of employees, especially female journalists.

All over the world including Ghana, journalists are often subjected to assaults, inequality and abuses of all kinds.

Sadly, it is female journalists that suffer more as they are subjected not only to attacks but sexual assault, abuses in and out of the office, as well as biases in favouring male journalists.

With decades of experience, Mrs Eyram Bashan who has seen it all in the media industry said it is time to insist on the protection of the female journalist.

Speaking at the conference on safety of female journalists in Ghana organized by the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) in collaboration with the Alliance for Women in Media Africa (AWMA) on Thursday, Mrs Bashan bemoaned the low wages journalists received in the country.

She urged women in the profession to stay resolute in difficult times and always negotiate for what they deserved before accepting to work with any media firm.

“I want to say a big thank you to all women journalists. God bless you and don’t give up. Sometimes the paycheck is not enough even though you sacrifice too much. But stay strong and continue making the difference,” she said.

In addition to urging female journalists to negotiate for security and insurance when taking up an offer in a media house, she also charged employers to stop exploitation female journalists and put the right measures in place to treat employees well not only financially but security as well.

“I say this to employers that it is in their interest to ensure that there is job security, there is a safe environment. They should ensure that if there is any harassment, especially on women there are HR mechanisms that can provide quick redress. They should not allow female journalists to be vulnerable to attackers outside and attackers within,” Mrs. Eyram Bashan added.

The MFWA and AWMA conference was held at the Tomreik Hotel in East Legon. It is part of the activities of MFWA to mark this year’s International Day to End Crimes against Journalists which falls on Tuesday, November 2, 2021.

The important conference put together over 60 female journalists drawn from various media houses including bloggers to deliberate on challenges confronting the safety and security of female journalists in Ghana and recommend ways in which the situation can be improved.

The conference was organized with funding support from the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.