will help in addressing issues of media bias. the same time they ponder on a skills retention strategy. (21) However, as the 2023 elections drew closer, ZEC became increasingly inaccessible, and this prompted complaints from the EU-EOM. Gender and the media Efforts to reform the public broadcaster in Zimbabwe have all but hit a brick wall. In 2019, a process to amend the Broadcasting Services Act with the state broadcaster and other media stakeholders was halted over what were described as “contentious issues”. (19) Sexual harassment and other abuses of female journalists are reportedly high, but this is an area that needs more research. A Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FNF) study (2023) attempted such research, which could be a baseline for future studies. (22) Journalists in small towns and rural areas According to the FNF study, three in four women (73.42 percent) in the media reported they had been verbally harassed. One of minister Mutsvangwa’s lasting legacies as head of the Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services ministry is that she oversaw the licensing of a total of 14 community radio stations during her tenure. In another survey done by Women in News in 2021, 41 percent of women said they have experienced this harassment in Zimbabwe. Action taken by media organisations is limited, with the most common response being a warning to the accused, reported fact checking platform, ZimFact. (23) While the licensing of community radio stations is expected to improve access to information and public participation in issues affecting them, the reality is that most of these stations are not sustainable and have been hamstrung by the legislative framework. The Zimbabwean media landscape was rocked by allegations of sexual harassment in September 2023 after a female staffer accused then Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation director of radio services Robson Mhandu of sexual harassment. Until mid-last year, community radio stations were forbidden from accepting advertising from commercial entities. This severely affected their ability to raise money to sustain their operations. Mhandu was accused of soliciting for sex from the female staffer before he could sanction her move from Bulawayo to Harare. (24) The government then promulgated Statutory Instrument 120 of 2023, which allows community radio stations to offer advertising to commercial entities whose business operations are conducted within the licensee community. The matter blew up on social media leading to Mhandu’s suspension. He was also due to be brought before a disciplinary committee. In 2024, the broadcaster announced that Mhandu’s contract would not be renewed. (25) It is important to note that community radio stations operate in usually marginalised communities, meaning that there are not many commercial enterprises in those areas. (20) Globally, according to a UNESCO-ICFJ report, at least 73 percent of women have experienced abuse online. Therefore, while Statutory Instrument 120 of 2023 might bring about some relief, it is not enough to improve the sustainability of community radio stations. The report pointed out that online violence against women journalists is designed to: belittle,humiliate, and shame; induce fear, silence, and retreat; discredit them professionally, undermining accountability journalism and trust in facts; and chill their active participation (along with that of their sources, colleagues and audiences) in public debate. Adding to the issue of limited resources, community radio stations are often manned by volunteers. Due to an inability to offer remuneration, most community radio stations grapple with high staff turnover and that affects their ability to operate. This amounts to an attack on democratic deliberation and media freedom, encompassing the public’s right to access information, and it Thus, community radio stations are in need of continuous capacity building efforts, while at STATE OF PRESS FREEDOM IN SOUTHERN AFRICA 2023 98