Film producers pledge safety
Producers adopt guidelines that pledge to make movie sets harassment-free.
A movie guild adopts first-of-its-kind guidelines meant to discourage workplace harassment.
Friday, on the eve of the first glitzy Producers Guild Awards ceremony to be held since the Time’s Up campaign began, the Producers Guild of America unveiled comprehensive anti-sexual harassment guidelines to its 8,200 members with a clear credo: Ensuring safety on film, television and new media sets by ending a culture of harassment in Hollywood is the responsibility of producers — full stop.
Drafted by an internal task force of PGA members working to find concrete solutions to the widespread abuses afflicting the industry, the guidelines are a first step in an ongoing effort by the group to address decades of harassment and abuse primarily by men in positions of power.
“Sexual harassment can no longer be tolerated in our industry or within the ranks of the Producers Guild membership,” Presidents Gary Lucchesi and Lori McCreary said in a statement. “As producers, we provide key leadership in creating and sustaining work environments built on mutual respect, so it is our obligation to change our culture and eradicate this abuse.”
The guidelines were ratified by the board of directors in a unanimous vote held Wednesday, three months after the same board unanimously voted to expel then member Harvey Weinstein following a wave of sexual abuse allegations.
Other industry trade groups have issued condemnations of alleged sexual abusers in their ranks, but the PGA is the first to take such a course of action in the post-Weinstein era — even if the guidelines, drafted “with the firm expectation that all members will follow them,” according to a December letter penned by the PGA presidents, have no current way of being enforced.
Drawing on guidelines and definitions put forth by the Time’s Up initiative and the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, the eight-page PGA document suggests introducing protocols into productions of all sizes, such as on-set sexual harassment training led by experts with all levels of management present; integrating sexual harassment awareness into the safety briefings typically conducted by assistant directors on every production; and designating at least two individuals, one of each gender, to field complaints.
To parties involved in reporting or investigating potential abuses, the guidelines advise keeping extensive documentation of alleged incidents, making copies of the documentation available outside of work, and sending time-stamped emails containing relevant details to oneself as well as trusted friends.
Although the PGA does not investigate harassment or abuse claims, its guidelines include referrals to external legal and support resources such as the National Women’s Law Center and Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund, the Women in Film sexual harassment help line and SAG-AFTRA hotline.
“These recommendations are only the first step in a long process of changing our professional culture,” reads the PGA’s anti-harassment guidelines. “Under federal law, sexual harassment is a form of discrimination. Ultimately, an inclusive workplace helps protect against all forms of discrimination. We will see even more progress once boardrooms and corporations — as well as production offices and sets — are balanced with gender and racially diverse leaders who will hire inclusive teams as a matter of standard practice.”