2 November 2026 —Marking the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) today launched a revealing new report on the workplace crisis facing women journalists in Somalia, which calls for immediate action to end the appalling culture of harassment, exploitation and discrimination, as it finds that only one in ten women journalists surveyed feels safe at work.
The report, “Unsafe, Underpaid and Unheard: The Workplace Crisis Facing Women Journalists in Somalia”, draws on a survey of women journalists in Mogadishu and Somalia’s six Federal Member States, group discussions with women journalists and consultations with media owners and managers. It documents the conditions women face in newsrooms and in the field while carrying out their journalistic duties.
The evidence exposes a media workforce left dangerously unprotected. More than half of respondents felt unsafe or very unsafe at work. Only 49.6% had a written employment contract and just 26% had full-time contracts. More than half reported chronic salary arrears, irregular payments or working without pay. Without secure contracts and dependable wages, women can be left exposed to arbitrary dismissal and pressured to endure abuse to keep their jobs.
Harassment is widespread and silence is being mistaken for safety. Nearly half of respondents, 48%, said they had experienced harassment during their careers, while a further 45.7% declined to answer. Women reported harassment in newsrooms, during field assignments and online, including the use of AI-generated sexualised deepfakes. Only one in five respondents was satisfied with the reporting systems in their media house.
NUSOJ Secretary-General Omar Faruk Osman said, “This report lays bare a disgraceful situation: women journalists endure injustice alongside their male colleagues, yet face greater risks and lack protection in their own workplaces. Harassment, withheld wages, retaliation and discrimination are not private problems for women to endure; they are gross violations of rights and failures of responsibility. Silence protects those who abuse power. We demand written contracts, wages paid on time, the gender pay gap eliminated, independent complaints systems and real consequences for perpetrators. No media organisation should be allowed to profit from women’s work while denying them safety, dignity and equal rights.”
The barriers continue into women’s careers. Only 11% believed they had the same opportunities as men to advance, while 46.5% said they had been denied a promotion or key assignment because of their gender. In addition, 63.8% said they had received no workplace training, shutting many out of the necessary professional development and leadership opportunities needed to progress.
The report, produced with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) through the Bilan Project and funded by the European Union (EU), also documents working arrangements that penalise women for pregnancy and caring responsibilities. These include long hours, night shifts and a lack of suitable workplace facilities. NUSOJ says such unfavourable conditions threaten women’s health and dignity and can push experienced journalists out of the profession.
The union urges news media organisations to negotiate collective agreements that ensure fair pay, safe working conditions, protection from discrimination and women’s meaningful involvement in newsroom policies. NUSOJ calls on news media organisations to end informal and exploitative employment practices, protect complainants from retaliation and give women equal access to assignments, training and leadership. Federal and state authorities must enforce labour protections, investigate sexual harassment and discrimination and hold perpetrators accountable. The union says the International Day to End Impunity must also confront abuses in newsrooms, where inaction can leave women without a safe or credible path to justice.
