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Some of the main vehicles and tools for the prevention of sexual harassment are the press and the media, which can and must have an active role in favor of the victims. However, sometimes they passively collaborate in maintaining the silence or, even worse, there are journalists who act against the victims and, therefore, in favor of the harassers. On the one hand, there are media and journalists who, from their commitment against all and any kinds of violence and right violation, choose to be the vehicles of the victims of any injustice, turning them into survivors and empowering them to transform into role models for those who have not dared to report yet. On the other hand, there are media and journalists who have taken a stance in the side of the attackers and harassers, basically in the side of power and structures, so that nothing changes and victims continue being victims, with no voice.

We have very clear examples of these two positions in our society, which show us that gender violence in universities is not an issue which excludes neither committed journalists nor mediocre yellow press journalists (this is how those who do mediocre journalism are referred to; those who instead of informing, work for promoting scandal and morbidity). 

The reports of sexual harassment in universities have been diverse. The mobilization against the reincorporation of the alleged major university professor harasser was stopped cold by the attacks of a small, but very active part of journalists towards the professor’s victims.  Their only contact with the victims was to ask them morbid details about their sexual relationships or their ways of living, besides giving voice to the harassers’ lies in the media (sheltered in anonymity) regarding the private lives of the victims. 

On the other hand, however, crushing the aspirations of the most mediocre side of journalism, a big part of journalists from very different media continued with their occupation’s professional and ethical criteria, deciding to give voice to the victims and critically corroborating all and any kinds of information. Extraordinary journalists from Documentos TV included the victims and the research group which broke the silence about gender violence in universities in their documentary film entitled Voces contra el silencio [Voices against silence]. The documentary film received the Golden Globe Award from the World Media Festival of Hamburg and is already recognized, seen, debated in many social spaces (including universities) in different parts of the world, bringing the voices of survivors to every corner that remained silent.

The difference of the former and the latter in the impact in the lives of the girls, in those who have supported them, in their trajectories, in their environment and in the feminist movement, is very big. Victory has been and will continue to be very outstanding both among survivors and among the journalists who have done a great job and whose international prestige does not stop growing. At the same time, those who positioned themselves against the victims are not and will never be able to avoid the fact that their lack of professionalism and that they still have not rectified is more and more known at the international level.

 

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