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After a series of allegations made by female news editorial staff, the government ordered an investigation of sexual harassment in the media.
After a series of #MeToo allegations made by female news editorial staff, the Sri Lankan government has ordered an investigation of sexual harassment in the media.
The journalist Sarah Kellapatha tweeted last week that between 2010 and 2017, a male colleague threatened to rape her while working in an unnamed newspaper, which led to numerous claims.
Kellapatha said: “It is almost impossible for any woman to go to work in a skirt without having to endure the indecent remarks made by male colleagues about their legs and bodies, or they would say’sexy’ out loud when they like it,”
She said she “stopped [the rape threat] From my mind, as a coping mechanism, until one day, I thought of it and burst into tears.”
I have male colleagues entering my private space in newsrooms, restaurants, corridors, office transportation and even elevators. It is enough to make me feel very uncomfortable with my body and even clothes, and regret wearing tight jeans or a low-cut T-shirt.
— Sarah Kailapata (@saararrr) June 18, 2021
Since then, other female journalists have launched a campaign on Twitter that is reminiscent of the #MeToo campaign that started in the United States in 2017, when the crimes of sex offender Harvey Weinstein surfaced.
Reporter Sahla Ilham said she was sexually abused by a “famous editor” in a now-defunct newspaper, who forced her family to remain silent.
“I have been silent for too long, and now I must add what happened to me,” Ilham said.
I was silent for too long, and now I must also add what happened to me. After I started working in a well-known newspaper that is now defunct, I was sexually abused by a well-known editor in a newspaper that is now defunct. To the point where he controlled my family to keep quiet. ——
-Sahlailham (@sahlailham) June 21, 2021
Jordana Narin, an American journalist who had interned at a Sri Lankan newspaper, said that before the editor-in-chief forced him to resign, a senior colleague sexually harassed her.
“[He] The best reporter ever seen in Sri Lanka. I can’t wait to learn from him…On the contrary, I was spoiled by him for the next two months, then yelled at, embarrassed by him, and fumbled repeatedly by him,” Narin said.
Another person named Kavindya Thennakoon praised women for talking about “predatory men” and described how a senior colleague tried to kiss her against her will.
I’m not sure about the up and down movement, but here is a small thread to compile #me too Examples in #lkaThe criminal has not been named yet. I don’t want to do this and let myself be abused, but I will provide enough clues to let the locals know what is what, or who and what is needed.
— Aisha (@aishnazim) June 18, 2021
The former editor of The Sunday Observer, Darissa Bastians, called the allegations “disturbing, painful, and too familiar.”
“Unite with female reporters because they have the courage to tell what happened in the #SriLanka newsroom for too long,” she said.
“Past accountability, critical reflection, and change make editorial time safer. #MeToo,” she said on Twitter.
Keheliya Rambukwella, a government spokesperson and minister of mass media, said that he has asked the government information department to conduct an investigation to ensure that female journalists can work in a safe environment.
“We will take the most severe action,” Lambukweila told reporters in Colombo. “We will take appropriate action without hesitation.”
He said he has ordered the Director of the Information Department to investigate the allegations on social media.
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