Few think Hollywood harassers will be punished
Better way to report misconduct needed
Three years after Harvey Weinstein's sexual assault scandal launched the #MeToo movement, most workers in Hollywood say harassers still aren't being held accountable and they need a better way to report sexual misconduct in the workplace.
A new survey from The Hollywood Commission released Tuesday that found 65% of respondents said they didn’t believe someone in power (for example, a producer or director) would be held accountable for harassing someone with less authority. Women (28%) were less likely than men (45%) to believe harassers would be held accountable, and white (36%) and Black respondents (34%) had a more favorable view of accountability than Hispanic or Latin workers (29%).
Only 23% of workers in Hollywood said they had reported harassing behavior to a supervisor; only 9% had reported such behavior to human resources departments and 4% to legal departments. However, more than 90% requested accountability resources.
The Hollywood Commission surveyed almost 10,000 women and men working or who have sought work in the entertainment industry.
"Things have improved, but not nearly enough," Anita Hill, who chairs the commission, told The Associated Press. “People don’t believe their complaints will be taken seriously, they don’t believe that something will happen to people who are found to be harassers. And they DO believe there will be retaliation – whether you’re a victim or a bystander, there’s a belief you will be retaliated against if you complain."
In response to the survey, the Hollywood Commission is creating a platform where those who feel like they've experienced sexual harassment, mis
conduct, discrimination or bullying can report incidents anonymously. The platform, expected to launch in the first quarter of 2021, will allow people to report immediately or conditionally. A conditional report will notify the person if more people launch a complaint against the same aggressor and give them the option of releasing their identity and becoming involved in an investigation.
“We had to step in and do something,” Hill said of the new initiatives. “We had an obligation to respond.”
Hill, a professor of social policy and
gender studies at Brandeis University, said there are factors unique to the entertainment industry that make sexual harassment hard to combat.
For one thing, it’s a highly transient work force. “People are moving around from system to system” or production to production, she said. “There are very limited structures for reporting ... and there are no structures for sharing information.”
She noted the system is by nature hierarchical. “Everything is based on who you know, and who can vouch for you,” Hill said. “If you’ve got a powerful per
son that you’ve worked with and ... they spread rumors or denigrate your work, it can have a powerful effect, and people know that.”
The Hollywood Commission was formed in late 2017, shortly after the allegations against Weinstein rocked the industry and forced a reckoning with sexual misconduct in the workplace. Hill, a prominent voice against sexual harassment ever since her 1991 accusations against then-Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas, was named head of the group.