Bullying, Harassment and Discrimination Rife in U.K. Screen Industry, According to Film and TV Charity Report
K.J. Yossman Bullying, harassment and discrimination remain rife in the U.K. screen industry, according to a new report.Over 50% of respondents to the survey set by the Film and TV Charity reported they had experienced “bullying, sexual or racial harassment or discrimination, or other harassment or discrimination in the past year alone.”The news will no doubt be a blow to the industry, which has renewed its efforts to tackle bullying, harassment and discrimination over the past eighteen months.The figures are among a plethora of worrying details contained in the charity’s second report on wellbeing in the industry.
The Looking Glass ’21 report is a follow up to a similar 2019 report which, according to the charity, “uncovered a mental health crisis in the U.K.
film and TV industry.” The latest report, garnered from 2,000 eligible responses, shows that work intensity and long hours (partly caused by the U.K.’s production boom) have contributed to the industry’s worsening mental health, with the number of respondents reporting work-related poor mental health rising from 63% in 2019 to 78% in 2021.
Meanwhile respondents citing mental health issues caused by the industry’s “culture and values” almost doubled, rising from 29% in 2019 to 51% in 2021.Discrimination also continues to be endemic, with over a third of Black, Asian and minority ethnic respondents reporting they had experienced racialized harassment or discrimination, causing 43% of them to consider leaving the industry altogether, while 74% of disabled respondents have considered leaving the screen industry due to the impact on their mental health.Perhaps most damningly of all, only 10% of respondents “agreed with the statement that the industry is currently a.
