Industry-Wide Initiatives

Addressing discrimination, harassment and bullying in the entertainment industry requires systemic changes beyond the capabilities of any one company. Our Partner Organizations commit to advancing the mission of the Hollywood Commission and changing the culture of the industry overall by working together with HC and their peers towards our collective goals. The Hollywood Commission’s work does not replace the important internal efforts of our partner organizations but seeks to fill the accountability gaps that persist at the industry level.

INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION COMPANY INITIATIVE

The Hollywood Commission has partnered with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), an organization heralded as “unique in the country” for preventing sexual violence (PBS Frontline, “Rape in the Fields”) in agriculture and other industries. The organizations will work together to develop a third-party pilot to protect workers at independent production companies and support those companies‘ efforts to prevent workplace misconduct.

Independent production companies face a number of unique challenges. They are often small in size and lack adequate resources and internal expertise to put systems in place that prevent workplace misconduct. In addition, victim reporting options at these companies are limited and at times require victims to bring complaints to their abuser. According to the Hollywood Survey, a groundbreaking study of entertainment workers, those working on small productions were more likely to report egregious forms of sexual harassment by powerful abusers (sexual coercion and sexual assault) than those on large productions. They were also less likely than those working on large productions to be aware of existing company resources or systems to address workplace conduct, and were less likely to report any misconduct to the company and less satisfied with the company‘s response if they did report.

REPORTING PLATFORM

Multiple complaints about the same person are frequent. Research tells us that if someone acts in an abusive, aggressive way, they are likely to do so more than once. The Hollywood Commission gathered individuals throughout the industry to review technology that allows repeat offender identification and was tailored to the entertainment industry. The new platform will launch in beta in Q3 2021, with participating organizations announced at a later date. The platform gives workers who feel they have experienced sexual misconduct, discrimination, harassment, bullying or microaggressions the ability to share it anonymously. Workers may choose to report immediately or to file a conditional report. If a worker makes a conditional report, if (and only if) other people in the organization also file complaints about the same aggressor, they will be notified and can decide whether to release their identity and participate in an investigation. Other components of the platform include two-way anonymous messaging, which workers can use to raise any concern and ask questions about process.