SABC condemns sexual harassment as #JusticeForPearlModiadie trends

The SABC has issued a public statement in an attempt to address allegations of sexual harassment of Pearl Modiadie allegedly at the hands of a Metro FM employee. 

The public broadcaster condemned sexual harassment and encouraged employees to speak out. 

In its statement shared on Twitter, the SABC acknowledged an article by Sunday World, which reported that Pearl had allegedly suffered sexual harassment while working at Metro FM.

“The SABC notes with concern media articles about the alleged sexual harassment case at Metro FM and the tweet by Ms Pearl Modiadie.”

SABC condemned sexual harassment and encouraged its employees to use its internal policies and procedures to deal with it.

“The SABC views sexual harassment in a serious light and will use its internal policies and procedures to deal with this matter. The SABC encourages any employees subjected to sexual harassment to use the corporation’s specific internal channels to report such cases,” read the SABC's statement posted on Twitter.

The Sunday World article claimed Pearl was allegedly subjected to “suggestive” comments about her body allegedly made by a male manager in an email thread. 

Pearl confirmed the validity of the emails to the publication and added that the harassment took place on more than one occasion.

“More than once, reference was made about my body shape and how ‘sexy it is’. Uncomfortable sexual innuendos were thrown around during conversations, even in the presence of my now former colleagues,” Pearl told the publication.

Following the publishing of the article, the hashtag “Justice For Pearl” landed on the Twitter trends list as Mzansi rallied behind Pearl and expressed their support for her.

Pearl took to Twitter and expressed how “grateful” she was that the media had picked up the issue because she would otherwise never have had the courage to speak out about the alleged sexual harassment she was subjected to at Metro FM.

“I kept quiet for too long until media picked it up and never have I been grateful for that because it finally gave me the courage to speak out about the sexual harassment I was  subjected to at Metro FM,” Pearl tweeted.

Several attempts by TshisaLIVE to get additional comment from Pearl were unsuccessful at the time of publishing this article. Should comment be received, this article will be updated.  

Earlier this year, fans of Lunch with Thomas & Pearl in particular were left heartbroken when Pearl confirmed she would no longer be part of the lunchtime duo with Thomas on Metro FM.

Pearl announced her exit from the radio station on Twitter and added that her last broadcast would be on March 31. The new mommy hosted the lunchtime show on weekdays from 12pm to 3pm.

“Wednesday the 31st is my last Metro FM broadcast,” Pearl tweeted.

Pearl's fans wished her the best in her upcoming projects and thanked her for keeping them entertained.