ENDING SEXUAL HARASSMENT

Ask yourself: Do you feel supported in the event of a sexual harassment or assault incident?

ISSUE: Sexual Harassment and Assault are ongoing threats experienced by many in our industry and our union continues to have an inadequate response in our contracts and internal policies.

Just before the 2020 TV/Theatrical Contract Vote, The Time’s Up Foundation publicly urged SAG-AFTRA members to vote NO - calling the tentative agreement, “disappointing and dangerous” because it fails to provide truly bold and meaningful protections.

MembershipFirst agrees. While our most recent TV/Theatrical contract contains minor improvements, it does not go far enough to protect members. We need:

  • Decisive actions with penalties to prevent harassment and hold abusers accountable

  • Initiatives to educate members

  • Healing and Recovery tools for members made available and prioritized

WHY IS THIS AN ISSUE?
All the union has done is express platitudes while failing to negotiate actual contract provisions that protect members at their most vulnerable moments. The 2019-20 Hollywood Commission’s Culture & Climate Report found that the “entertainment industry has a permissive climate toward sexual harassment: Workers don’t believe powerful harassers will be held accountable or that their reports will be taken seriously, and they view reporting as risky.”

  • When reporting an incident of sexual harassment/assault, there is less victim support from our union than protections for alleged abusers.

  • These outdated policies are hidden under the union’s “cloak of confidentiality”. As a result, serial abusers are allowed to continue their offenses.

  • Rather than discouraging abuse, current policies discourage the reporting of it.

  • Without demanding any consequences for infractions against SAG-AFTRA’s Code of Conduct, this union is failing in its responsibility to prevent and discourage sexual misconduct.

  • Members haven’t received adequate education or support from our union, even though MembershipFirst has repeatedly proposed remedies to this ongoing crisis.

WHERE OUR CURRENT CONTRACT AND POLICIES FALL SHORT:

  • The “48 Hour Rule” states that producers are required to give 48 hours notice to performers when nudity and nude scenes are involved...”when practicable”. There is no penalty if this is not enforced.

  • Closed Set Regulations during intimate scenes: These fall far short of what ACTRA, our sister union in Canada, has negotiated and what our union should guarantee.

    • No definition of “essential crew”

    • No limit to crew members

    • No limiting access to viewing monitors

    • No confiscating cell phones during filming.

  • Intimacy Coordinators: The use of intimacy coordinators (ICs) on set for scenes requiring nudity and/or simulated sex is becoming the new standard. Yet, our current leadership failed to negotiate with producers to mandate their presence, their excuse is that ‘There aren’t yet enough ICs to go around’. They could have added their favorite phrase “if practicable” were no ICs available, but they chose not to even mention them in the contract

  • Thanks to MembershipFirst’s advocacy, when reporting transgressions to the union, members will soon have 10 years in which to file an official “member-to-member complaint”

  • We are still fighting to lift the 6-month Statute of Limitations due to the length of time needed by some to come to terms with their abuse and report it.

  • During the current process, members are asked to retell their story multiple times, risking re-traumatization. This current policy disregards the latest research on trauma as well as current changes in state and federal laws

  • The mandate to provide robes for intimate scenes, that was hailed as a “big gain” in our current contract, was already industry standard practice.

WHAT IS OUR SOLUTION:
MembershipFirst understands that the physical and psychological well-being of our members is of paramount concern and has been leading the way to sexual harassment reform within our union.

Some of the focused pushes by MembershipFirst include:

VOICES IN ACTION

  • MembershipFirst has repeatedly suggested that Voices in Action (VIA) be added as a resource for members to the union website. VIA is a non-profit organization created by a member/sexual assault survivor, which offers an independent, user- controlled reporting platform that has the ability to track and identify serial perpetrators.

  • Despite MembershipFirst’s pleas, current leadership has refused to alert members to VIAs victim-centric programming and mentorship - even though VIA has been supporting survivors for the past three years including members of our union.

SEXUAL HARASSMENT COMMITTEES/TASK FORCE

  • We are proud that MembershipFirst was the driving force in initiating the first Sexual Harassment Task Force and the first ever Sexual Harassment Caucus. One of our resolutions at the 2019 convention made it possible for Committees on Sexual Harassment to be formed in every local across the country.

With new leadership, we can continue to rebuild the protections of our union members in the following ways:

  • Mandate Intimacy Coordinators on every set where a nudity/simulated sex rider has been negotiated under union contracts, with concrete penalties for non- compliance. Create a path to SAG-AFTRA membership for ICs.

  • Develop ongoing educational seminars for members where we clearly define and discuss sexual harassment, sexual assault, consent and coercion.

    • Seminars to provide concrete steps and options for reporting sexual misconduct

    • Raise awareness around resources available to victims

    • Educate members to empower them regarding their current rights concerning nudity, simulated sex, and intimate scenes

  • Provide a direct link to Voices In Action on the official SAG-AFTRA website.
    https://voicesinaction.org    .

  • Further reform the process of Member-to-Member complaints: A third-party impartial investigative team should be engaged whenever an official complaint is lodged.

  • Make trauma training should be made available to leadership, union members and staff. It should be required for all involved in the reporting process, including intake, the Disciplinary Committee members and adjudicators.

  • Put forward a constitutional change reinstituting the language that was deleted regarding ‘conduct unbecoming’ as an offense.

  • At the start of each production, require an all-cast, crew and production safety meeting regarding workplace harassment that includes the following:

    • Producers would be required to give performers a document that defines workplace sexual harassment and

    • Gives performers a choice of four people to whom they may report an incident should it occur during production.

    • This document would be presented for all to acknowledge and sign at the start of their employment.

    • These meetings are currently mandated in many states, but should be union- wide policy.

  • Require posting and/or handouts outlining SAG-AFTRA’s Code of Conduct listing specific negotiated penalties for infractions against this Code.

CHILD ACTOR SEXUAL ASSAULT ISSUES

  • MembershipFirst has delivered a resolution to the National Board that SAG-AFTRA sponsor a survey of the industry on child sexual abuse in conjunction with the national think-tank, ChildUSA.

  • MembershipFirst continues to meet with production representatives to discuss other means with which to reform current production practices regarding children.

  • Require and enforce background checks of anyone working with minors. A child performer should never be left alone with an adult on set or off.

MOVING FORWARD AND RESOURCES
MembershipFirst will continue to organize, raise our voices, and ensure greater protections for women, children, men, BIPOC and all of our LGBTQIA everyone vulnerable to sexual misconduct and abuse.

We will continue to listen to members and respond accordingly by continuing to work with the independent organizations below to provide all members the ability to report privately, hold repeat offenders accountable, heal their trauma and empower themselves through resources and support.