By Matik Kueth
South Sudanese media leaders have raised concerns over a hidden epidemic that is driving female journalists out of the profession in the country.
Behind the microphones and keyboards lies a darker reality: female journalists routinely face sexual harassment from those meant to mentor them. Managers and editors are at the forefront of this abuse that goes mostly unreported out of fear of job loss, retaliation, and public disgrace.
Despite the existence of workplace policies, harassment continues, quietly driving women out of the profession and silencing their voices in the country’s media landscape.
The media leaders cautioned that this culture of impunity is exacerbating gender disparity, leaving those who remain in the profession silent out of fear.
In an interview with King Media on Tuesday, Zahara Sayid, Chairperson of the Female Journalists Network (FJN), described the situation as a growing exodus of women from the profession.
“Female Journalists Network, we have registered several cases; the latest cases are two. Previously there were so many cases that led to some of the female journalists abandoning their work,” Sayid disclosed.
She said most station managers are men who assign women unsafe late-night duties beyond their control, despite South Sudan’s poor security.
“These females are mothers; they are wives. They need to be home early. And there are specific tasks given to them. But the managers give them tasks which is not beyond the scope of the work. So, they happen to work out late. And when they work out late. There is no transport that will take them home. And with the current security situation. As a woman to work alone at that time is very dangerous,” she stated.
Sayid added that FJN is pursuing the current cases with media owners, the South Sudan Human Rights Defenders Network, and FIDA South Sudan to provide legal support and protection for the victims. She appealed for structural reforms to create a safer and dignified working environment for female journalists.
Policies exist but go unenforced
Ayaa Irene, Director of the Association for Media Development in South Sudan (AMDISS), acknowledged that while some media houses have sexual harassment policies, they remain largely ineffective.
“Despite the existence of sexual harassment policies in some South Sudanese media houses, female journalists still face harassment, often by their managers, and fear reporting due to inaction or retaliation,” Irene said.
Drawing on her experience as the former Chair of the Female Journalists Network (FJN), she painted a bleak picture of silence and fear in newsrooms across the country.
“It’s very few female journalists who dare to report. Many other female journalists die in silence without reporting; some even decide to leave the work,” she stated.
The AMDISS director urged media houses not only to adopt policies but also to take real action.
“anyone who is accused, they have to set up a committee to investigate, and if they find that the person who is accused is guilty of perpetrating sexual harassment against a female journalist, that person has to be punished, even within the media house, either by giving them suspension or by dismissing them from the work, so that female journalists can feel that their cases are being addressed or handled,” she emphasized.
Pushing for safeguards, but gaps persist
Meanwhile, Majak Kuany Alier, Secretary-General of the Union of Journalists of South Sudan (UJOSS), admitted that sexual harassment and gender-based violence remain widespread challenges in newsrooms, even as the union works to safeguard female journalists.
“UJOSS has taken deliberate steps to ensure the protection of female journalists by embedding gender equality and safeguarding provisions in its policies, advocating for anti-harassment workplace rules in media houses, and creating channels where affected journalists can seek redress,” Alier stated.
He noted that the union has taken deliberate steps to protect women in the media sector by advocating for workplace policies against sexual harassment, promoting gender equality safeguards, and partnering to raise awareness on gender-sensitive practices.
“We continue to work with partners to strengthen accountability mechanisms so that no female journalist faces intimidation or harassment in silence. To our female journalists, we want to assure you that UJOSS stands firmly by your side,” he emphasized.
“If you experience harassment, you can report safely and confidentially, and we will work with you to seek justice and protection. We are building stronger support systems so that fear never silences your voice,” he assured.
Some reported complaints have been referred for mediation and dialogue with media houses, though Alier admitted that “accountability has often been limited by weak institutional frameworks.”
Despite these challenges, he reaffirmed the union’s commitment to building stronger mechanisms to end harassment and intimidation in the media industry.
Harassment is a crime, but laws fall short
Meanwhile, Jackline Nasiwa, a human rights activist, warned that sexual harassment is not only a workplace challenge but also a criminal offense under South Sudan’s Penal Code Act.
She described it as “a form of gender-based violence and abuse of power by senior management of media houses.”
“I think the act of sexual harassment by law itself is an offense. And it’s in our penal court act of South Sudan in section 395,” Nasiwa said.
Nevertheless, she lamented that South Sudan’s labor laws lack a specific section addressing workplace harassment, leaving victims without clear reporting mechanisms or protections.
The activist urged women to speak out, warning that silence only deepens trauma and undermines human dignity.
“Silence does not help to address the challenge that they go through. The more you are silent, the more you live with the trauma. It belittles your dignity as a human,” she noted.
She further called for urgent reforms to make newsrooms safe for female journalists, underscoring the need for the Media Authority and UJOSS to urgently adopt sexual harassment policies.
“The media authority needs to come out with a sexual harassment policy. The UJOSS, which is the Union of Journalists, need to come out with that policy. So that the work environment for female journalists and even for male journalists is safe,” she emphasized.
Victims are scared in silence
However, behind these concerns are the painful testimonies of women who have quietly left journalism.
King Media reached out to several female journalists who had experienced sexual harassment; all declined on-the-record interviews out of fear, but their colleagues spoke about what they witnessed on the condition of anonymity, with names of their media houses not revealed for fear of retaliation.
Rosylin Aluot (not her real name), 28, who works at one of the media houses in Juba, said harassment by managers remains rampant, pushing many women out of the profession.
“Well, such cases have been there; it’s just that the victims do not want to talk. Some of my colleagues with whom we worked in the same media company left because they were not submissive,” Aluot revealed.
She stressed that certain female journalists were promoted solely on the condition of yielding to sexual advances.
Christine Kiden (not her real name), 26, recounted how a colleague left journalism in 2021 after being persistently groped by her manager.
“One of my colleagues who was a presenter at a certain community radio station here in Juba quit because her manager used to press or romance her breasts after she was off air. The manager did it several times, but the lady warned him, and he could not listen,” she stressed, adding that the woman eventually resigned when her complaints were ignored.
Kiden added that another journalist, whose identity she could not reveal, abandoned her career after being misled by a manager who promised her a job once she completed her internship.
She narrated that the colleague endured sexual advances during the internship but was ultimately discarded, leaving her disillusioned and unwilling to remain in the profession.
“Another colleague of mine left the media after she was tricked by one of the media managers here in Juba, who said he would recruit her after her internship if she accepted him. But after the internship, the manager did not recruit her, and she got annoyed and left the media for good,” she explained.
“When I told her to report the case to AMDISS, she said she reported the case, but she could not go ahead with the case because the guy is connected with some big people in the government,” she lamented.
According to the Female Journalists Network (FJN), 30 female reporters from across South Sudan described how sexual harassment in the workplace and in the field remains a reality, often at the hands of editors, managers, or officials.
In 2019, two female journalists were physically assaulted by an army officer during an assignment at the SSPDF Headquarters, triggering public condemnation and a rare apology from military authorities.
The AMDISS director also underlined that the real test lies not in drafting policies but in enforcing them.
Though some media houses have sexual harassment policies in place, the lack of enforcement continues to silence victims, force women out of journalism, and undermine respect for female employees, all while exacerbating gender disparities in the country’s media.
“This story is reported with a grant from Journalists for Human Rights under the ‘Tackling Mis/Disinformation Project,’ funded by the Peace and Stabilisation Program of the Government of Canada.”