Balado attempted to keep the man away, informing him that she was broadcasting live and continued reporting for another 10 seconds. The host, Nacho Abad, then apologized for the interruption and asked, “Did he just touch your bottom?” Uncomfortable and with the man still standing beside her, the reporter replied affirmatively.
“Put this idiot on,” Abad said. Balado then confronted the man, saying, “Even if you wanted to ask which channel we are from, did you really have to touch my bottom? I am live and working.” The man denied wanting to touch Balado and said, “I respect you,” before attempting to touch her hair as he walked away. In a longer version of the clip on the program’s website, Abad expressed his support for his colleague and said, “I’m very sorry for what just happened to you… I’m really angry.”
Balado then resumed her report. In a later shot, she described the incident as “completely unpleasant” and stated that the man was “bothering everyone he comes across” further down the street. Abad instructed Balado to turn around as the man approached her once again and demanded that she “tell the truth,” leading the reporter to attempt to end the broadcast. “I don’t feel like giving him the limelight at all,” she said.
On Tuesday, the police in Madrid announced the arrest of a man suspected of “sexually assaulting a reporter while she was doing a television live.” The incident led to strong reactions from Spanish politicians and journalists, shedding light on the harassment that female reporters face while working in public, especially during a time of increased scrutiny on sexist behavior against women.
“Nonconsensual touching is sexual violence and we say enough to impunity. All my support to @IsaBalado. Only yes is yes,” tweeted acting Equality Minister Irene Montero on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Sexism is what causes female journalists to suffer sexual assaults like this and the aggressors to have no remorse in front of the camera. It can’t go unpunished,” responded acting Labor Minister Yolanda Díaz.
The incident has sparked a debate on how to best support victims of sexual harassment and ensure their safety and well-being. Victoria Rosell Aguilar, the Spanish government’s delegate against gender-based violence, questioned the response of the reporter’s team.
“Next time, instead of forcing her to confront the aggressor, with the obvious risk of facing another touch or something worse, stop in order to identify him and be able to report” the incident “if she chooses to do so,” Aguilar posted on X. “Nobody is born knowing how to respond, but in the case of #SexistViolence, we always ask first to try and ensure the well-being of the victim, remove the source of danger, and then identify the aggressor.”
The company that owns the Spanish television channel, Mediaset, expressed its strong opposition to any form of harassment or aggression and offered its support to Balado for the “absolutely intolerable situation she has endured.”
In a statement posted on X, the Spanish Academy of Television and Audiovisual Arts and Sciences expressed solidarity with the assaulted journalist and reiterated their commitment to supporting information professionals in the free exercise of their profession in all news coverage.
Other Spanish female journalists shared their own experiences of being harassed while working in public. Verónica Sanz shared a clip on X from when she was reporting on a famous festival in Buñol in 2011, in which she can be heard saying that people in the crowd were pinching her buttocks. “Of course, they’re not dummies. They take advantage,” the female anchor replied.
Similar incidents have been reported around the world. In the United States, reporter Alex Bozarjian was covering a race live in Georgia in 2019 when a man slapped her buttocks. “You violated, objectified, and embarrassed me,” she tweeted. “No woman should EVER have to endure this at work or anywhere!! Do better.”
During the 2018 soccer World Cup in Russia, several female journalists, including María Gómez of Spain, Julieth González of Colombia, and Julia Guimaraes of Brazil, reported being groped or sexually harassed while working, with strangers attempting to kiss them. The Committee to Protect Journalists stated at the time that these incidents highlighted the public harassment faced by many journalists, including three American journalists they interviewed.
Sexual harassment and consent have been the subject of intense debate in Spain recently. The president of the Spanish soccer federation resigned on Sunday after facing public backlash for kissing a female player on the lips after the women’s team won the World Cup. Luis Rubiales had remained defiant despite being suspended by FIFA, the sport’s governing body, and facing legal challenges over the kiss, which player Jenni Hermoso repeatedly stated was not consensual. Rubiales has been summoned to appear before a judge on Friday.
Spanish laws against sexual harassment have been under scrutiny since a 2016 incident known as the “wolf pack” attack, where a group of men filmed themselves sexually assaulting an 18-year-old woman. Initially, a court found them not guilty of rape because the law at the time required violence and intimidation for a conviction.
As a response, Spanish legislators introduced a new law known as “only yes is yes,” but it inadvertently created a highly controversial loophole that resulted in more than 1,000 offenders having their sentences reduced, as reported earlier this year by Spanish newspaper El Mundo.
The government has apologized, but this week, one of the men convicted in the “wolf pack” case had his sentence reduced from 15 years to 14 years, according to Reuters news agency. However, the decision may still be appealed. The provincial prosecutor’s office in Madrid requested a 300-meter restraining order and a ban on the suspect contacting the journalist, according to the program Balado works for.
Nevertheless, some journalists have expressed hope that the outrage over this incident indicates an improvement in public awareness. Sanz, the reporter who recounted being sexually harassed while covering a festival in 2011, said she had a “bad time” and “didn’t feel very supported.” She wrote, “It’s like a different world, only 12 years later. Today would be different, and that’s what matters.”