www.forbes.com: A recent survey by the Anita Hill-led Hollywood Commission on sexual harassment found that one in five women who responded said they had been sexually assaulted or harassed at work over the course of their careers and 1 in 20 reported that they had been sexually assaulted or harassed on the job in just the 12 months prior to taking the survey.
7 comments:
Right now, with the data shown in this article, I think that the issue is lying more in an educational problem rather than a problem that needs direct firing. Of course, there is always the exception and there always will be the exception as long as there is people. The rules are in place, the guidelines are there, they're getting better, but they're much better than they were two years ago. I think that when it comes to crude comments and day to day verbal harassment, the issue is that someone somewhere told them that this was ok to do in a workplace, and probably told them that this is ok to do in the entertainment industry in Hollywood. Although professional, there is an air of promiscuity when it comes to people working in the entertainment industry, that what we're doing is inherently not that important. I don't deny that theatre and film isn't curing cancer, but treating people with the same level of respect is required. If you know you could have gotten kicked out if you behaved this way in middle school, you sure as hell shouldn't be acting like this at work.
This is disappointing, but seriously, did people expect it to just,,,, disappear? Like I hope no one is surprised that sexual harassment did not just *end* after #MeToo when broadcasting companies ONLY ousted a handful of the abusers involved in the problem. Heck, half the abusers are probably so high up in these companies we can’t even get to them. There is a systemic culture of misogyny-driven elitism in entertainment that allows this to continue. You cannot expect the numbers to decrease unless the people participating in that culture are removed, and you put precautions in place to prevent it from happening again. The #MeToo movement helped a LOT of people, particularly the victims of harassment, to get more workplace protection from abuse, but I do not think that broadcasting companies actually took enough initiative to do anything unless the public forced them into a corner. Clearly there is more to do, but I feel I would be naive to expect anything to happen without them getting a push to do it.
I definitely agree with Shahzad that this is an educational issue. Policies of reporting don't stop things from happening, they just give agency to reporting. There needs to be education on the offenders' sides to learn how to be better. I also completely agree with Samantha. The systemic culture needs re-education that takes time. The #Metoo movement got people talking about the issue but didn't necessarily bring change. It seems like we are still in the observing the problem existing phase and yet to fully enter the actual change phase. Frankly, every time I see an article about a new study proving how racism is still prevalent, or sexism and sexual harassment is still a problem, I am confused by the shock that an article writer frames the study in. Problems won't just go away and no matter what policies are put in place, there a cultural shift happening and that takes time sadly. Also, policies don't mean buy-in and without buy-in the policies are useless. One question rose is why are these studies/surveys being done with such binary terms. I'm sure that there is a lot of harassment to the TGNC community (trans and gender-nonconforming community) that hasn't been able to accurately reported.
I completely agree with Shazad in saying that sexual assault, and in this case in theatre, is an educational issue. It’s still an educational issue outside of theatre. But I feel like sexual assault, from my experiences and the way I have been taught about it, it something that feels like it’s a checkbox topic. As in, it’s a topic that institutions love to talk about but do nothing about, as are a lot of other subjects, especially in college settings. It’s something that everyone knows about and knows that it is a real issue and happens in the real world with adults and doesn’t solely exist in college-it’s everywhere. It’s a taboo topic that a lot of people are uncomfortable with even though we need to just get comfortable with being uncomfortable, because being uncomfortable is the core of a lot of issues and it should be openly addressed and spoken about and treated as an educational obligation.
Of course, the #metoo movement didn't fix the problem of sexual harassment in the workspace! Rather, what it did was it brought more attention and light to this issue so that more bystanders would speak up, and the movement also gave victims more strength and courage to stand up for themselves. This would not necessarily fix all sexual harassment cases. From reading the article, like many of the other people are commenting, seems to be an educational issue. There is a thin line between showing interest and harassment, and I don't think people always know that when they ask someone persistently on dates or shines unwanted sexual attention on another, that is harassment. For them, it may be a sense of how much they like another person or showing them their interest, but are not realizing that simply no means no. Especially in the entertainment industry where it is mainly male-dominated, it is much harder for women to even be heard when they speak up about these issues, hence why there were so many cases from the survey that were never actually reported. The me too movement is only a step towards improving this corrupt nature.
As a woman, I’m obviously upset that sexual harassment is still so prevelant in the industry, but did people really think a problem that has been going on forever was going to be fixed in 3 years after celebrities spoke out. Don’t get me wrong, I am a supporter of the #MeToo movement because it supports sexual assault and harassment victems who feel like they can’t tell their stories. That is just the beginning of it and there are so many steps that need to be taken now. Like many other people have been saying, education is extremely important and companies should require it. It’s not enough to set up policies and never teach or enforce them. Some people may think it’s common sense, but after looking at these statistics there are too many people who either don’t know or are just actively doing what’s wrong because they can.
I am consistently disappointed by the fact that this is a continuing issue for any industry, especially the entertainment industry. I am a strong supporter of the #metoo movement and the women who are a part of it who have been victimized and harmed. However I can see how it slipped under the radar of the media, even though I sorely wish that it hadn't. I think that in the world today where many companies are turning to educating their employees in the matter of race and talking about it with seriousness and a desire to put a stop to racism, they could be doing the same thing with the issues of the #metoo movement. Taking about these issues and providing education with the serious intent to stop the harmful action is a great way for people to begin the conversation about serious topics such as sexual assault.
Post a Comment