Source: The Gender Report, 3 December 2011

This week was chock-full of stories about women in journalism. Here are a few of the highlights and links for where you can find more.

Treatment of female journalists abroad

Photojournalist Lynsey Addario, who was working on assignment for the New York Times, was strip searched and “humiliated” by soldiers during a security check when she entered Israel from the Gaza Strip, according to an article by the Associated Press. Due to her pregnancy, Addario requested not to have to go through the X-ray machine out of concern for her child. She instead was forced to go through the machine three times while soldiers watched and laughed. She then was strip searched by a female officer. An apology came Monday for the incident from Israel’s Defense Ministry.

After being released, journalist Mona Eltahawy posted this photo to Twitter showing the casts she needed as a result of injuries sustained during her detainment by security forces in Egypt. Eltahawy says she was beaten and sexually assaulted.

In addition, as we reported on last week, the risks for women reporters in Egypt are gaining media attention again after two female foreign journalistswere sexually assaulted. The issue continued in the news this week as the women shared their stories.

Caroline Sinz, a broadcast journalist from France, was assaulted while covering protests. Additionally. Egyptian-American blogger and journalistMona Eltahawy was beaten and sexually assaulted by local Egyptian security forces. A number of articles told of the pervasiveness of sexual assault, not just for journalists, and told these women’s stories. Here are a few:

• Journalist On Being Sexual ‘Prey’ In Egypt (NPR)
• Exclusive: In Egypt, Women Reporters Still at Risk (Women’s Media Center)
• Eltahawy says security forces exacted revenge ‘through me and my body’(Poynter)

Many reports made mention of “60 Minutes” reporter Lara Logan, who was sexually assaulted in Tahrir Square in February (Read our post on that attackhere). The Women’s Media Center posted a video interview with Logan by founding president Carol Jenkins discussing her experience this week. Logan received the center’s Whole Truth Award, which was one of several given out at the Women’s Media Awards this week.

Women who lead

The American Journalism Review this week looked at the question of whether women lead newsrooms differently. The article was specifically a response to the following comment by Jill Abramson, who (as we’ve previously written about) recently became the first woman to serve as the New York Times’ executive editor: “The idea that women journalists bring a different taste in stories or sensibility isn’t true” (as stated in a Sept. 10 New York Times column). The AJR article found that many top female managers and researchers disagree with her statement.

In addition, a new study in New Zealand by Dr. Catherine Strong looked at reasons behind the lack of women in journalism management and why women leave journalism. Strong attributed this issue to a “glass bubble” instead of the “glass ceiling.” Read more about the study here.

Other articles of note

A number of other noteworthy articles on topics related to women and media, including women journalists, popped up lately. Here are a few to add to your reading list if you haven’t already:

• Sara Ganim expects to write many more stories about sexual abuse in... (Poynter)
• 15 ways the media would be different if it were run by 97% women an... (by Gloria Steinem and Nell Scovell on Huffington Post)
• Chrissie Wellington wants female athletes to boycott [BBC] Sports P...(The Telegraph)
• Gender inequality still has a starring role in Hollywood, USC study... (LA Times)
• Women journalists confront harassment, sexism when using social media (Poynter)
• Don’t stop the presses (Women on the Top blog – Financial Times)
• Confusing Sex and Rape (New York Times)