Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma

[Note: Matloff participated in a recent forum on 'Women Reporting War' arranged by the International News Safety Institute and the Dart Center at London's Frontline Club.]

Recently, I sat down with colleagues both male and female to ruminate about where women stood reporting on war.

We came to a quick consensus that conditions had changed radically over the past decade.

Women now form a large proportion of the press corps in combat zones. News editors have increasingly recognized that we can be as professionally resilient as men.

Some colleagues go further by arguing that our gender can actually serve as an advantage. We can insinuate ourselves into tricky situations with greater ease than men, because we are less threatening. Women inspire less aggression at roadblocks. Chivalry often dictates special treatment, and with it access.

How many of us have been invited to join a general, or whoever was in charge, at the front of a jeep while our men folk grumpily sat in back? In 20 years of reporting, I can only recall one hitch in access, when an Angolan colonel refused to take me to the front because I was female. I quickly melted his opposition with a live chicken and a bottle of vodka.

However, our gender has its downsides.

Most notably, many male peers still harbor the notion that we are too delicate for the task. To prove otherwise, women sometimes take silly risks or feel compelled to work harder.

Sexual harassment poses tribulations as well.

Name one female correspondent who hasn't been hit-on by another journalist or armed man?

Conflict situations seem to invite unwelcome advances, as you're living in intimately close quarters with colleagues or sources. You're sleeping next to them in scarce hotel rooms, in vehicles, in tents.

Few women feel comfortable calling their male bosses and saying: "That photographer you assigned is pestering me."

Women often think that this is their fate, and that being hassled is par for the course. No one wants to seem like a spoilsport whiner.

However, our biggest challenge is biology. By this, I mean three things: rape, size and the dreaded "M word" —menstruation.

Rape is the woman correspondent's nightmare. It's particularly frightening in this age of AIDS, when you may contract a deadly disease in addition to being violated. And rape is a real threat. War makes people do extreme things and women are viewed as spoils in a generalized culture of violence.

I'm lucky never to have been sexually assaulted, but have been in situations where it was threatened. I know of three women who were raped on assignment. Not one felt comfortable mentioning the incident to her male boss.

All three were afraid of being pulled off the job, so they suffered in silence. The INSI survey indicates that more instances of violation occurred. I wonder how many more have gone unreported.

Another danger is our size. Body armor designed for men who measure 5-foot-11 and weigh 175 pounds does not suit a 98-pound woman of 5-foot-three. Managers should provide smaller flak jackets for smaller women. Otherwise, we run the risk of herniated neck discs, or worse, not using body armor because it's too heavy to run in.

Lastly, I bring up the dreaded M word. I'll be graphic on the question of "feminine hygiene."

Quite a few women take the pill to stop their menstrual periods while on assignment. They would rather face potential health hazards from these hormones than ask male colleagues to bring a couple boxes of tampons on their next supply run. Or the women are too embarrassed to bleed while embedded with male troops.

This is absurd. Something has got to change. Our lives and health are unnecessarily at risk.

Like trauma, the challenges confronting women are often overlooked because they're embarrassing—like menstruation and sexual harassment. Or they're inconvenient; after all, it's expensive to order a special flak jacket for the one girl on the team, or to pay for special training.

As well, I suspect that many managers are simply ignorant, and haven't a clue of how frequently women face the prospect of rape.

What we need is to bring these issues into the public discussion, so that women can operate with greater safety.

Wouldn't it be great if our bosses offered self-defense training? How about making clear to all employees that sexual harassment is verboten?

And when a woman correspondent calls you on the sat phone to ask for more supplies, take the initiative and ask her if she needs more Tampax.