As sexual harassment is rampant in the media sector in Rwanda that there is need to put measures in place to prevent it in order to motivate young female journalists to actively engage in the journalism career.
On Friday, July 18, 2025, a meeting organized by the Association of Rwandan Female Journalists (ARFEM) was attended by government officials and journalists both males and females from various media houses, to thoroughly discuss strategies to end sexual harassment in the media sector.
While officiating the meeting, Jean Bosco Rushingabigwi, Head of Department for Media Sector Coordination Monitoring at Rwanda Governance Board (RGB) explained what harassment is and highlighted its impact on the profession.
“Any time someone is subjected to something they don’t want; they are being harassed. Sexual harassment is one of the reasons journalism fails to be productive. As everyone needs to work in a safe environment, journalist also deserve it. Hence, journalists are required to work in a safe environment too.” says Rushingabigwi.
After hearing testimonies from female journalists who had faced harassment, participants suggested different ways to address the issue, with a common recommendation being the introduction of a mentorship program for aspiring journalists.
During the meeting, Albert Bauduin Twizeyimana, the Executive Coordinator of Pax Press, said that there should be a mentorship program for female journalism students at the university level, where each student is assigned a mentor who will guide and support them throughout their internship.
“Sexual harassment is a plague in journalism! Hence, there should be frequent awareness sensitizations in newsrooms so that every journalist understands what harassment is and can recognize it if it happens to them, as some are harassed without even realizing it,” says Twizeyimana.
In her opening remarks, Doreen Umutesi, the Vice Chairperson of ARFEM, revealed that sexual harassment is prevalent in the media sector when she highlighted the findings from an audit conducted in various media outlets.
“It is our responsibility as media professionals to establish clear guidelines to prevent this issue and find sustainable solutions, so that future generations joining the journalism profession find a conducive working environment,” says Umutesi.
The Synergy of Women Associations in Media in Rwanda carried out an assessment done on 40 media outlets in November 2024, and the data collected revealed that while 62% of media houses have a gender policy, only 10% share it with staff, 90% of staff don’t even know they have it.
Although 71% report having an anti- sexual harassment policy, only 13% have documented any cases and over 60% have never evaluated their policy’s effectiveness.
Emmanuel Habumuremyi, the Executive Secretary of the Rwanda Journalists Association (ARJ), highlighted the responsibility of each and every one in combatting sexual harassment in the media sector.
“According to the discussion we have held today, I recommend that trainings on sexual harassment are crucial increase awareness. ARFEM and its partners should keep focusing on this issue. Establishing anti-harassment policies and fail to implement them has no effects on addressing the issue. We should report those who commit such shameful acts of sexual harassment and hold them accountable,” says Habumuremyi.
According to the Rwanda’s Demographic and Health Survey conducted by the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR) in 2019-2020, 37% of women and girls aged between 15-49 had experienced physical or sexual, or psychological violence. The corresponding proportions among men are 30%.
Fulgencie Mukamusoni
