A Brazilian court has ordered President Jair Bolsonaro to pay compensation to a journalist after he made degrading comments about her, BBC reported.

Bolsonaro had suggested last year that Patricia Campos Mello had offered sex to a source for negative information about him.

The judge said Bolsonaro's remarks had damaged the journalist's honor.

The president was told to pay her 20,000 reais ($3,500) in damages. He can appeal the ruling.

In a tweet, Campos Mello, an award-winning reporter for Brazilian daily newspaper Folha de S.Paulo, said the judge's decision was a "victory for all of us women."

The Journalists Against Harassment group said the ruling marked a "great day" for female reporters and professional journalism in Brazil.