ABC News’ Ashleigh Banfield Calls Sex Attacks On Female Journalists “Secret Job Hazard”

by Alex Alvarez | 10:38 am, February 17th, 2011

» 8 comments

The violent sexual assault CBS correspondent Lara Logan sustained while covering celebrations in Cairo’s Tahrir Square led many to wonder about the safety of journalists – particularly female reporters – as they cover tense situations in foreign countries.

ABC News correspondent Ashleigh Banfield addresses those concerns head-on in a column she penned for The New York Post, telling concerned readers that sexual violence against female reporters is a “sad little secret”… that may not be so secret after all. Writes Banfield:

There’s a good chance we will be groped, pinched, slapped and/or experience severe molestation in a discreetly sinister way.

It’s unpleasant . . . it’s humiliating . . . and sometimes a painful nuisance — but it’s not something that’s likely to change anytime soon. And it’s something many of my female colleagues simply endure in order to carry on doing the job they love.

Some, such as Michelle Malkin, who appeared on Sean Hannity‘s Fox News show last night to discuss Logan’s attack, have attempted to tie the assault to “radical Islam,” or to a specific cultural or religions mindset. Banfield does not hesitate to address the question of whether culture or religion might have a role in why these attacks on female journalists happen, drawing on a personal experience covering a rally in Pakistan:

It was at that very rally in Islamabad, after being pelted with fruit and small stones, that I experienced that of which my colleague was warning me — an extraordinarily personal grope that can’t be described on these pages.

Without question, it enlightened me as to the lengths some Muslim men, in some very strict societies, would go to defy their God for a fleeting thrill.

It also left me extremely uncomfortable covering crowded marches and demonstrations in Islamic nations.

Don’t get me wrong, there are bad apples in every barrel, and I would like to think that the majority of men who congregate in these democratic assemblies in search of freedom adhere to the tenets of their faith.

Sidestepping, for a moment, why it is that such attacks happen, the question – and one Banfield doesn’t answer in her article – remains of what must be done or changed by networks so that female journalists may do their jobs without having to silently “just take” abuse or harassment. If a supposedly prevalent and ingrained negative attitude (abroad or otherwise) is firmly set in place and isn’t set to change any time soon, what can journalists and their employers do to protect themselves and one another?

h/t New York Post

Ashleigh Banfield, female journalists, Islam, Lara Logan, Muslims, Sexual Assault

screwauger

why not broadcast from a faux backdrop like Wolf in the gulf war. Might be wrong but like this chicks input, WHO CARES
tatboy

It’s interesting to get the perspective of Keith Olbermann’s glasses.
http://www.swissarmyjew.com Keeva

What do Banfield and Malkin have in common? Both are yappy morons who need to be ignored in the hopes they will go away.
http://twitter.com/SailRabbits Magister

I commented somewhere that just because we haven’t seen such incidents reported, it doesn’t mean that they haven’t happened. In fact, I’m pretty sure that I can recall a report or two about local journalists who may have suffered similar attacks and I can’t help but believe that in a war zone, an in-depth investigation of organized crime or drug cartels, 20th Century America or in the Wild, Wild West that reporters of both genders haven’t been subjected to a troubling experience, not to mention those who were outright killed.

Working a late shift at a convenience store can be dangerous; Door-to-door sales can be dangerous and interacting with those in a mob or otherwise intoxicated by a sense of power can be dangerous; Leaving the house or cracking a window can be dangerous and because danger can be anywhere, other than being prepared, there’s not a lot that one can do.
Judge Mental

You raise an interesting question, Alex. Generally speaking, an employer may be liable for sexual harassment by third parties if the employer has actual or constructive notice of the harassment and takes no action to prevent or correct it. I would expect CBS’s lawyers are all over this.
Gasket

Maybe there are certain jobs that women should not do. I am as progressive as it can be with women rights and equality, but, it seems incomprehensible when common sense does not prevail. Just like those who think an attractive female should be a guard in a men’s max. security prison. Women should be responsible for the decisions they make and weigh the pluses against the negatives. It sounds cold, but, it’s a situation that might have been prevented.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Nanda-Kiran/100000814069098 Nanda Kiran

The solemnity of the uprising in Egypt is tarnished by animal like despicable demeanour of misogynists towards a bold and brave woman journalist. The matter should not be buried under the euphoria of dethroning a dictator nor should it be brushed aside on the pretext of occupational hazard. The perpetrators need to be identified and punished both for their “heinous conduct” and to protect the honour and dignity of a state called “Egypt”. The Nobel Laureate should take up the cudgels on behalf of the victim- a noble cause. The Libertaroan must endorse his act as and when activated.
Tedderman

At some point, common sense has to be used in keeping not just female journolists out of harms way but men too. Far too many men and women have been maimed, raped killed or even murdered in the name of the story.