On the third anniversary of reports on the Harvey Weinstein sex scandal, SAG-AFTRA has unveiled new resources to help prevent sexual harassment and build safer working conditions for members.
In a message Monday to the 160,000 members of the performers union, President Gabrielle Carteris and National Executive Director David White noted that the union has developed and released the definitive code of conduct to prevent harassment and assault in the industry; put a stop to improper private meetings in hotel rooms and personal residences; and retrained staff to provide support to survivors who wish to report an incident or who need therapeutic resources or other assistance.
The new resources include the guide “Sex, Nudity & You,” a rundown of some of the protections now afforded to performers shooting nude, semi-nude, simulated sex and intimate scenes; the “Quick Guide for Scenes Involving Nudity and Simulated Sex”; and a pledge to work with top intimacy coordinators on standards for training and certification, building on the release earlier this year of its “Standards & Protocols for the Use of Intimacy Coordinators.” Carteris and White also announced that a mobile app will become available later this year to aid in reporting sexual harassment and identifying abusers.
“Unfortunately, there is still much to do and sexual harassment remains an all-too-common occurrence,” Carteris and White said in their statement. “To help members who have experienced or witnessed sexual harassment in the workplace, SAG-AFTRA has developed a mobile app reporting tool that will allow them to easily report these incidents and receive referrals for therapeutic, legal and law enforcement assistance. The app will also collect data to identify serial abusers. The beta version will be in limited testing with members later this month, and a full release to the membership is expected later this year.”
The union included harassment protections in its recent successor deals to its master contracts in addition to a ban on auditions in private residences and hotel rooms. It established a “Code of Conduct on Sexual Harassment” last year in instructing its 160,000 members how to deal with the issue.
The New York Times and The New Yorker first published their articles on Weinstein on Oct. 5, 2017, leading to multiple revelations about pervasive misconduct by entertainment industry executives.
“Since then, countless women and men have come forward to expose the industry’s pervasive sexual harassment problem, to bring perpetrators to justice and to work for real, lasting change,” Carteris and White said. “SAG-AFTRA has been there right alongside them, creating safer working conditions for our members and the industry as a whole.”