As third female World Cup reporter is sexually harassed on air, we look at similar past events and the reactions
Despite growing public awareness of sexual harassment in the workplace, it is still an everyday reality for female reporters. We look at recent incidents and the reactions that have accompanied them
In March this year, 52 female Brazilian reporters started the campaign #DeixaElaTrabalhar (“Let her do her job”) to speak out against the sexual harassment they suffered on the job.
But despite an outpouring of support on social media, it has not put a stop to unwanted advances in the industry – as the ongoing soccer World Cup has shown.
A third female reporter was harassed on air this week while reporting on the tournament. The incident saw a man try to kiss Brazilian TV presenter Julia Guimaraes as she was speaking on camera in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg. After dodging the kiss, she rebuked him and shouted, “Don’t do this! Never do this again!”
Early last week, Colombian reporter Julieth González Therán was groped and kissed by a man when broadcasting from Moscow.
Some social media users dismissed the action as “fans’ excitement” and the reaction to it as “feminist hysteria” and “poorly judged action”. But González later tweeted: “The violent act of a fan is sad. But what is even worse is the reaction of those who do not see it as harassment.”
Despite growing public awareness of sexual harassment in the workplace, thanks in part to the #MeToo movement sparked by revelations about film mogul Harvey Weinstein, people still make light of such behaviour.