ANALYSIS


BULLYING AND HARASSMENT IN TV


DOES TV BREED BULLIES?


FOLLOWING RECENT REVELATIONS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT, HARASSMENT AND BULLYING, PIPPA CONSIDINE ASKS IF THE TV INDUSTRY HAS A PARTICULAR STRUCTURAL AND CULTURAL PROBLEM


The Harvey Weinstein scandal broke four years ago. Since then, there has been a great deal of reflection in the screen industries around bullying and harassment, guideline-drafting and initiative launching. But everyone is agreed: more needs to be done. These twin evils will never disappear, but pressure is building for the industry to deal more honestly and effectively with perpetrators. One thing above all else seems clear. There are


industry guidelines designed to prevent and deal with bullying and harassment. These need to be made mandatory. Harassment is illegal, under the Equality Act of 2010. The Equality and Human Rights Commission guidance on harassment at work is also destined becoming a statutory code of practice in the coming months.


TIME’S UP The recent allegations by 20 women against the actor, director and producer Noel Clarke, as reported in The Guardian in May, have refocused attention. Time’s Up UK has called on the British film and


TV industry to establish an independent authority for dealing with sexual misconduct allegations. Bullying and harassment were already back in industry sight-lines. In March, the BFI and BAFTA produced an Action List, based on their 2018 Principles and Guidelines. The List promotes a Dignity at


22 televisual.com Summer 2021


Work Policy, with a template developed together with Bectu. One core preventative idea is to have mandatory safeguarding officers on every production. Reporting processes are clearly laid out and links are provided to ACAS and to The Film and TV Charity 24-hour hotline, as well as its digital incident- recording tool Spot. Tim Hunter, Executive Director of Learning,


Inclusion Policy and Membership at BAFTA has worked closely with Jen Smith, Head of Inclusion at the BFI, initially drawing up the Principles and Guidelines in 2018. “When we started work after the Harvey Weinstein allegations came to light, we perhaps naively thought it was a watershed moment for the industry,” says Hunter. “We’ve regrouped following recent allegations and want to do more to increase awareness.”


“WE WERE TAKEN ABACK WITH


RECENT REVELATIONS. CLEARLY NOT ENOUGH HAS BEEN DONE”


commissioned by the Film and TV Charity, found that over half of the 9000 respondents reported bullying or intimidating behaviour, ranging from deeply personal criticism and humiliating jokes to targeted abusive behaviour over an extended period. The report referenced ‘cliques’, ‘sharp power imbalances’ and ‘fear of being judged.” Examples of historic abuse are more than likely to keep surfacing. Following swiftly on the heels of the Clarke allegations, producer Charlie Hanson was removed from Netflix production After Life, following abuse allegations


centring on previous shows he had worked on. Both Clarke and Hanson deny all wrongdoings. At the start of this year, the Guardian also reported on a “toxic” culture behind the scenes of Gogglebox, with staff being shouted at, excessive hours and minimal breaks.


SOMETHING IN THE WATER Does TV and film have it worse than many other industries? Yes, is the short answer. The Looking Glass Report, published in 2020, described “an industry in which inappropriate and harmful behaviours that have long been unacceptable in other workplaces remain entrenched and normalised.” This research,


BRUSHED UNDER THE CARPET If you’re reading this article, you’ve almost certainly either been the subject of bullying or harassment, or witnessed it. At the very least you’ll have heard about initiation rites - pranks played on new team members – or talent shouting at production staff, or crew members that couldn’t cope with mad hours of work. Bectu’s UnseenOnScreen intiative,


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