Telling The Hate Tale

Media Reporting on Sexual Harassment cases against the Powerful

When it comes to sexual harassment cases, it is not always about women or men; but about those who are in power irrespective of any gender.

While focusing into the gender neutrality approach in reporting of sexual harassment cases, media miss out largely on the perpetrator who assumes the power. So, it becomes the story of sexual harassment victims, their retelling of all the agonies gone through and acceptance of the re-traumatization than questioning the obvious accused in power who always cut loose from the scene very easily.

What’s happening in India under the “Beti Bachao Beti Padhao” (Save Girls Educate Girls) scheme is not worth watching when anyone sitting in their living room gets entertained with the media vilification of the sexual harassment victims protesting for months on the street. I am talking about the Indian Women Wrestlers on the street accusing the politician who is an elected representative of Indian democracy and President of the Wrestling Federation of India for seeking sexual favors and physically abusing the girls who brought Olympic honors to home.

The most notable example of reporting sexual harassment cases at this point of time is the Harvey Weinstein case – an investigative reporting by The New York Times. This is an excellent reminder of how media seeks and accumulates the truth from the victims and question one of the powerful Producers of the Hollywood industry to confirm it. What a remarkable reporting journey was led by two young women reporters – Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey! It was the effort of this two investigative reporters and the company – NYT that the post-70 year old Harvey Weinstein was convicted of decades old rape, forced oral copulation and third-degree sexual misconduct and was sentenced to 16 years in prison in February 2023. At the very least, what they could do was visit and revisit the victims and their traumas; calling and recalling the powerful sides to confirm and reconfirm the stories. It was their perseverance that whitens the truth more and made the defense shallow with each passing days.

I would encourage the readers to watch the recent biographic movie directed by Maria Schrader “She Said” released in Prime Video to understand how and what it took for the two young reporters to bring truth against the powerful.

The very opposite is what can be found in Indian media reporting today. I am quite surprised at how the Indian audiences are glued to a large section of media making the serious allegations by the Indian women wrestlers an issue of entertainment. Nobody had believed that these media would fall into the feet of the powerful with such obsession and dedication that they would term any protesters against the powerful as “Anti-National” and “Anti-India”. I am also amazed at several media analysis of the issue as mirroring the victims as opportunists and the betrayers of the country for raising their voices against an allegedly abusive MP because media performs as the authoritarian voice in representing anything against the elected representatives as against India and her democracy.

Is this the level of analysis that the Indian media should have achieved since its Independence?

Surely not; a small section of media still breathes air not polluted by power and especially the Independent and the freelance journalism is not only growing in size but also strengthening its voice against the Authoritarian Media.

But that’s not the solution; it is important for all sections of media to understand that the powerful cannot use the media to cover their secrets. And fortunately, the media have also been given the opportunity to tell the truth that the Indian women wrestlers have been facing for so long just like all the actresses who agreed to go on record for the NYT. It was the media then which didn’t miss the opportunity and made a big revelation on their behalf. Indian media on the other hand has already missed that opportunity couple of times.

It takes everything for someone like the victims of sexual harassment to come and open up once in their life time; the only responsibility that media must bear is to tell it without bending it.