When journalist Eleni Stamatoukou from Balkan Insight recently presented me with the first research ever conducted on #metoo in Greek journalism and published in December 2022, I was amazed. I wondered how it was possible that it had not caused a commensurate uproar to that caused in the field of sports and theatre.

“We sent questions to about 60 small and large Greek media. Only 11 media answered us. The reactions were varied. Some in the media said we were doing the wrong research as there were no incidents of abuse in the media, others thought the questions were unrealistic. I should note here that the questions were common to all media. Some media “complained” that we can’t put big and small organizations in the same cauldron. However, as the investigation showed, abuse and harassment do not discriminate,” Eleni Stamatoukou, who initiated the investigation entitled “Code of Silence: Fear, Stigma and Harassment of Greek Women Journalists”, tells Deutsche Welle.

What the survey showed – 51% of bullies are hierarchical superiors

According to the research:

– 43% of the respondents were victims of incidents of a sexual nature,
– 35% received verbal harassment,
– 81% dealt with the incidents within the workplace, with 51% of the perpetrators being superiors. _

53.8% of victims did not report the incident for fear of not having support.

Two thirds of the respondents state that in the media where they work, there are no procedures to support employees in making complaints.

In the end, around 40 people responded to the survey, of which 92% were women. To DW’s question whether BIRN (Balkan Investigative Reporting Network) knows how many are working in the field of journalism and why the 40 people who finally answered can be a representative sample, Eleni Stamatoukou points out that they addressed everywhere, to media and union bodies and the important thing is that this is the first attempt to record the phenomenon.

Sex and journalism – “Your knees should be calloused @@@”

Fear and stigma is a very important element that emerges from the research as a deterrent to the disclosure of incidents. Those of us who work in this area know that sexist comments, verbal and psychological abuse, but also in extreme cases, physical violence or threats, are not just fantasies.

The D. breaks her silence after many years and speaks exclusively to Deutsche Welle. She remembers that when she entered the profession very young and very excited because she loved to write, one of the first comments she heard from her manager was: “Look girl, if you want to get ahead in this job, your knees have to to remove calluses from the bites@@@”, while making a similar movement with his hand.

The young lady was shocked, confused and didn’t know how to react because she was talking to him in the plural. D. tells us that the surrounding atmosphere in many media was offensive. “We grew up in a journalism where you wrote and then the other person would take your paper, crumple it up and say ‘That’s not the point’… What are you bringing me? Nothing. .. You are nothing”. At another time, another supervisor “who had a lot of work and couldn’t keep up with all of them”, offered her a partnership. For D. to find him news, for him to put his name and give her some money. She accepted, but then he demanded much more in return for the “opportunity”…as he called it, that he gave her. She never gave in and so was forced to leave.

The minister, the erogenous zones and the case of masturbation

The E. having also been in journalism for many years, she points out to us that in the course of her career she was surrounded by a sexist atmosphere. “At some point this happened quite often and I realized that I have to learn to live with it. It made me sad and I felt like he underestimated me too many times. I felt that many times I was also seen as a sex object or as a dumb woman. They weren’t too interested in seeing your work. There was also a chauvinism at work. Too often, in too many media, male managers have more trust in male editors, in men in general.”

To date, she has faced three extreme incidents. Not with journalists but with politicians in the context of her work, when she went to be interviewed. “Twice I had to fight my way out of the office. They didn’t just drop it on me. Grabbing me, trying to push me against the wall, pushing me, trying to touch me. Yes, all these things twice and very strongly. The two times I told you I had to fight my way out of the office and the third time it was a very rude minister I went there to talk about an issue. And he says to me: “Now leave the subject and let’s talk about your erogenous zones.” That’s exactly how he spoke to me. Not that I had given him any rights. I walked in, I was neither relaxed nor joking. Nothing. I came in very seriously to do my job.”

Z. also with extensive experience in the field of journalism, complains that her colleague systematically masturbated in front of women in the medium where he worked for years, when he found them alone. When the then young Z reported the incident that happened to her to her managers, not only did they not support her but they laughed and mocked her saying “come on baby that’s how he is”. Furthermore, Z complains that what happened to her happened to too many of her female colleagues. In addition, the colleague in question touched women’s behind whenever he could. The employee in question was never reprimanded or punished.

Threats and blackmail…

Th. although she herself had no experience of direct sexual harassment, she is no stranger to sexist jokes such as about menopause, or as she tells DW “I knew something was wrong, but it was very difficult for me to define it.” She received comments about her appearance and even at one point from a female supervisor who urged her to pay attention to her outfit because it was provocative. As for whether she has heard about issues of harassment, she answers that she knows directly from her female colleagues that “they have received clear threats and blackmail that if they do not go out and have sex with their superiors, they will never see glass or painted glass again. They won’t appear on TV again.”

At this point we should point out, however, that through our discussions, our interlocutors pointed out that often women and men in exchange for sex seek to ascend. In this case, however, there is consent from both parties. They decide together what to do. The problem arises when the one who exercises power insults, belittles, belittles by actions or omissions the weaker using the power that his position gives him to impose his will.

Victims don’t know where to turn

In the last few years, however, something seems to be changing and the awareness surrounding #metoo is contributing to the adoption of a more careful attitude.

The L. he is only 23 years old and has a year and a half of professional experience. In the place where she works, she has not encountered any sexist attitudes, only labor exploitation, as she tells Deutsche Welle, “simply because she is younger”. As a student, however, she had to collaborate on a university project with an employee at the General Secretariat of Information and Communication. On the occasion of the help he offered, he became especially burdensome to her and her friends on social media, telling them that “the space needs acquaintances, otherwise you can’t move forward and he could help…”. Of course with some trade-offs.

In closing, we asked the opinion of Mrs. Dimitras Mari, who is a PhD candidate at Panteion University with a thesis topic: “Sexism and Public Discourse – Media Representations of the Greek MeToo”. He first points out how important BIRN’s relevant research is since it is unique in its kind. Also on why victims don’t speak up, he tells Deutsche Welle: “The fact that victims don’t speak up about what they’ve suffered doesn’t mean that sexual harassment doesn’t happen – it means that there’s no support framework. On the contrary, there is a maintenance framework of the culture of sexism and the so-called rape culture that justifies and perpetuates this type of abusive behavior. Government spending on #metoo has a slogan of ‘Breaking the Silence’, putting the onus back on the victims themselves to speak up and seek support. But what is the line of the welfare state so that there is support for the victims? …Steps must be taken in all directions mainly by the welfare state to address sexual violence at all levels.”

Finally, let us mention how we also asked for ESIEA’s opinion. Although we were promised that they would provide us with information on whether complaints have been made and whether initiatives have been taken to create a safe and supportive environment for victims, we have never heard back.

Disparaging and potentially criminally hellish behaviors also exist in the field of journalism and we must contribute to their elimination because this culture of abusive exercise of power or abusive behavior in general affects every decent human being, regardless of gender.