“The newsroom has very few women; it is male-dominated. So, how are these men being raped? Could it be that men are raping fellow men?”
That was the question posed by Radio Simba’s News Editor, Dick Nvule, during a panel discussion after findings of the 2025 report on Sexual Harassment in the Media were released during the recent Uganda Editors Guild Convention at Jinja Nile Resort.
The global survey conducted by WAN- IFRA Women in News, in conjunction with City St George’s University of London and BBC Media Action, found that in Uganda more male journalists (9 per cent) said they had been raped, compared to 4 per cent of female journalists.
Worse still, 3 per cent of the 89 male respondents in Uganda said they had been raped more than five times, compared to zero respondents out of 116 females. These statistics left participants in shock as WAN-IFRA Women in News shared the Ugandan results which, however, are not unique to Ugandan media houses.
Tanzania’s respondents reported 14 per cent cases of raped males, compared to 12 per cent cases among women; Rwanda reported 6 per cent male journalists were raped in 2025 compared to 11 per cent women; Somalia was the worst with 35 per cent male rape cases compared to 32 per cent women.
Two per cent male respondents in Kenya reported rape, compared to 8 per cent women. In Africa, rape, a vice historically known to be mainly perpetrated against women, was also reported by men in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi and Sierra Leone, prompting wider discussions on who was actually raping these men.
Whether the findings in Ugandan media are representative of what could be happening in other professions, is also a subject of more surveys. The report says, the main perpetrators of rape are fellow employees (35 per cent) mostly in a superior role, and news sources (30 per cent).
More disturbing is, none of the female victims reported their rape cases, and less than half (38 per cent) of the raped men reported to authorities. Respondents told the survey, fear of retaliation, losing their jobs, and the possibility of not being believed, are some of the reasons why the rape went unreported.
Of the men who reported the rape cases, 31 per cent said they (the victim) were transferred, 34 per cent were given emotional support, none of the perpetrators were fired and in 36 per cent of the cases, police were informed.
While the report shows a decline in general sexual harassment in Ugandan media (40 per cent, down from 53 per cent in 2020), Women in News Managing Director Susan Makore noted in a press release that|: “Although reported less frequently, sexual violence, including rape, remains a concern.”
She said, still, women are disproportionately affected across nearly every form of harassment. Seventy-seven per cent of Ugandan media women who experienced harassment reported verbal harassment, compared to 45 per cent of men.
Nearly half (47 per cent) of women experienced physical harassment, compared to 34 per cent of men, while 56 per cent experienced online harassment compared to 46 per cent of men.
Once the findings of the survey were shared, a lengthy debate ensued with editors noting how big a problem sexual harassment still is in Ugandan newsrooms, and a leading cause of women giving up on careers in journalism.
“Despite this high prevalence of sexual harassment, reporting rates remain alarmingly low, and WAN-IFRA Women in News encourages newsrooms to put in place proper sexual harassment policies, with clear reporting channels and dedicated teams, to make the newsroom a safe space for everyone,” Makore said in her statement.
WAN IFRA Women in News chose the Uganda Editors Guild convention (July 30 to August 2) to release the Uganda status report, due to the calibre of media managers and/or owners in attendance. T
hey included former Vision Group editor-in chief Barbara Kaija, Sylvia Nankya (URN editor-in-chief), Joachim Buwembo (Chairperson Uganda Printing and Publishing Corporation), Muhereza Kyamutetera (CEO East Africa Magazine), Churchill Otieno (Africa Editors Forum), Zubeidah Kananu (Kenya Editors Guild), Alex Atuhaire and Daniel Kalinaki (Uganda Editors Guild), Dr George Lugalambi (African Centre for Media Excellence), Dr Peter G. Mwesige (ACME/CIPESA), among dozens of others – some from as far as Karamoja and Yumbe.
The convention also tackled other issues that affect Ugandan media, including artificial intelligence, media sustainability, dwindling revenues, the impact of the Sovereignty Act on media practice, and more.
Minister of ICT and National Guidance Justine Kasule Lumumba was chief guest, and said media play a big role in the success of government programs; so, “how do we disagree and remain respectful to each other?”
She later fielded questions from the journalists in a bare-knuckles session moderated by Uganda Media Centre Executive Director, Alan Kasujja.
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