Story Ideas

There are still many stories of sexual misconduct and discrimination — both personal and systemic — which deserve coverage. How do we improve the quality and quantity of reporting on these issues? Here are some topics participants at the Power Shift Summit 2.0 raised as worthy of journalistic examination.

• 2018 Legislation on Sexual Harassment in the Legislature: An unprecedented amount of state legislation was passed on sexual harassment and sexual harassment policies in 2018. Some 32 states have introduced new laws. Check your local legislatures.
• Sexual harassment and violence against low-income workers in industries such as janitorial, hotels and farming.
• Models of successful innovation, including businesses, that are taking deliberate steps to create safer workplaces including Homeroom, a restaurant in Oakland, Calif., the union-led “Hands Off, Pants On” campaign for hotel workers and Ya Basta Coalition for janitorial workers.
• The increasing number of women journalists who face danger and sexual violence around the world and organizations which offer hostile environment training for them.
• Harassment in the photojournalism community; gender inequity and dangerous environments are a toxic mix.
• Sex workers and harassment. Laws passed by Congress shut down some online sites with the consequence of making sex trafficking less safe.
• How are diversity councils and anti-harassment task forces created in organizations, what is it like to be a member and what toll does it take?
• Life after rape: how do we uplift and empower survivors?
• Gay people cannot get a restraining order against an abusive partner in North Carolina. There is an effort to change that.
• Childhood abuse survivors — systemic issue of how child protective services responds; long-term effects and impact on adulthood and behaviors.
• The challenge of calling men on their behavior without backlash.
• Trial by internet: Is there space for ownership of one’s mistakes and redemption? Can there be survival after admitting wrongdoing?
• Spanish language media, #MeToo and the collision of “machismo” culture.
•  Sexual harassment in academia: While conversations about the #MeToo movement’s impact on Hollywood have proliferated in the media, less attention has been paid to how the movement has affected other spaces, like academia.
• Stories about sexual abuse within the recovery community, where stories are often discredited because of stereotyping and challenges to credibility.