What does this research mean for the field?

Women journalists in Indian news organizations experience diverse forms of workplace harassment and risks that are shaped by their intersecting identities and are not adequately addressed by current policy and legal amendments. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.INCREMENTAL. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

What question did this study set out to answer?

This research aims to explore the narratives of women journalists regarding their experiences of harassment in Indian news organizations.

June 18, 2026

Journalism during the Times of #Metoo: Workplace Harassment for Women Journalists in Indian News Organisations

Key Points

This research aims to explore the narratives of women journalists regarding their experiences of harassment in Indian news organizations.
Utilized standpoint theory to analyze women's experiences and perspectives.
Conducted in-depth interviews with women journalists to gather primary data.
Documented the work environment and risks faced by women journalists.
Women journalists reported personal experiences of harassment, including improper advances and physical touches.
Findings indicate a systemic issue of workplace sexual harassment across various news organizations in India.
The study highlights the need for policy and legal amendments to protect women in diverse work environments.

Abstract

Abstract Social and human equality has seen development from the female suffrage to workplace representation through reservation and finally up to the recent 'me-too' movement. The 'me-too' movement (socially viral as the #metoo) is a march against sexual harassment and assault. The Indian journalism industry was one of the leading industries to have faced the brunt of this mass movement. Within a brief span of time, the industry saw its dark, buried secrets stripped in broad daylight of the social media. A considerable bunch of eminent women journalists shared their personal versions of outrage and regret against all the improper physical touches, unsolicited advances of sexual assault, and circulation of pornography, silently, inflicted upon them (Saberin, 2018). The movement was not gendered and there might be cases where a man has been harassed too but most of the accusations were made by women victims. The multiplicity of identities that women in India hold makes it difficult for anyone to define what feminism in India is or who can speak on behalf of women in India. The aftermath of new and several older movement has seen policy and legal amendments brought in for the safety of working women but none suffices for a group (i.e. women) who is spread across all caste, class, colour, profession, and geographical location. This study, used the standpoint theory to document the diverse narratives that women journalists provide about the experiences, risks and work environment in which they work. It used a mix of primary data from in-depth interviews with the women journalists. Key Words: #metoo, Journalism, Social Media, Feminism, And Workspace JCMR Journal of Communication and Media Research, Vol. 12, No. 1, April 2020, pp. 36-47 © Association of Media and Communication Researchers of Nigeria. About the author * Anupa Barik is a final year doctoral student at MICA, Shela, off Telav-Ghuma Road, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. She specialises in the area of media journalism, gender studies, culture, and communication studies. Full Article Words: 8,176 Pages: 12 To access full article, click on download. Article Citation Barik, A. (2020). Journalism during the times of #metoo: Workplace harassment for women journalists in Indian news organisations. Journal of Communication and Media Research, 12 (1): 36 – 47.

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