Sweden: Expressen Newspaper Fires Frida Sundkvist For Whistleblowing On Workplace Sexual Misconduct
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January 7, 2022, Malmo- Journalist Frida Sundkvist was fired from the Swedish newspaper Expressen last month after sharing internal problems with a journalist from another newspaper including sexual harassment and sexism. Violations in the working place are a serious concern to the industry. The Coalition For Women In Journalism extends solidarity to Frida and every journalist speaking up about internal misconduct. We urge Expressen News to take action against the perpetrator and not the person reporting wrongdoing.
A month after ETC newspaper reported that a manager at Expressen is being internally investigated for the alleged sexual abuse of an employee, Frida was called into a meeting at her workplace. The human resources manager at Expressen and the lawyer for the Bonnier Group, which owns the publication, confronted Frida on her being cited as a source for ETC’s story. The meeting ended with Frida being dismissed from her job.
“My employer Expressen is firing (! ) me after they investigated sources internally and found that I leaked information about a toxic and sexist environment to a journalist,” wrote Frida in a Facebook post on December 10.
Shortly after Frida was dismissed, ETC published another article with testimonies of former Expressen employees, who, according to ETC, describe the second largest newsroom in Sweden as “a sect ruled by fear and threats”.
The second article featured an interview of Frida, who said that she had raised this matter with her superiors at Expressen as well as with the CEO of Bonnier News, the newspaper’s owner but did not feel heard. “I have flagged things and pointed things out at the editorial office. For several months I have been trying to get them to listen.”
“I see this as incredibly serious,” said Frida when commenting on Expressen investigating the source of ETC’s first report. “Not only for myself, but also for the industry as a whole.”
The Swedish Journalists’ Union is expected to meet the Bonnier News leadership to discuss this matter on January 13, 2022.
CFWIJ stands in solidarity with Frida Sundkvist and all women journalists who come forward with their experience of sexual misconduct. We have repeatedly stressed on the need for gender sensitivity and redressal for disparity against female media workers in newsrooms. We condemn Expressen’s decision to fire Frida instead of looking into the serious allegations of sexual harassment and sexism in the newsroom. The organization’s decision is reflective of a toxic work environment, which prevents women in media from coming forward with their experiences of sexual misconduct. Moreover, it emboldens sexual predators to continue exhibiting such behaviour at the expense of their colleagues. The journalistic community must work collectively to ensure a safe working environment for women journalists.
