February 27, 2021, Gjirokaster - A female journalist of the local TV in Gjirokaster, Albania, has been exposed to sexual harassment by the TV founder. The incident was revealed after a video shared on social media. The Coalition For Women In Journalism (CFWIJ) condemns this outrageous incident against the journalist and once again, we say out loud that we stand by female journalists who are abused sexually or physically. 

According to Exit News, a video was released indicating the director of ALPO RTV in Gjirokaster sexually harassing a female employee at work. The footage indicates Aristotel Petro took some inappropriate actions for the female employee. The video seems it was taken through a window without anyone's knowledge.

Although the founder of ALPO TV admitted his appearance in the video, he denied the allegations of sexual harassment. He claimed that the video was a "trap" set for him by the person who filmed it.

Also, a recent report by the Albanian Helsinki Committee documented sexual harassment and abuse cases of many female journalists. The report underlines that most women do not report harassment cases because of the fear of being blacklisted in the Albanian media industry.

The Coalition For Women In Journalism condemns the prevalent sexual harassment in newsrooms. Famous, powerful men should not have the right to violate the women around them. And newsrooms, whose sole purpose should be to speak truth to power, should not be covering up for them at the cost of the well-being of their female employee.