The DIFFICULT
Second editorial
here's a great many topics of
concern within the creative
arts and entertainment industry at present. But none are more concerning than the apparently never-ending series of sexual assault, harassment and bullying accusations being levelled at leading figures in the entertainment and political arena.
It is shameful that these have gone unreported and under-reported for so long, and that certain key individuals in the industry have been able to get away with predatory and illegal behaviour for so long. The last few months have hopefully served as a wake-up call for those who have either wilfully ignored complaints or turned a blind eye to them.
Just this week the Silence Breakers who spoke out against sexual assault and harassment were named TIME's Person of the Year 2017. It is crucial that the media report these things and that people who have been victimised feel that they can share their stories so that the harassers can be reprimanded and potential other victims spared.
Closer to home Amplify Women, an umbrella group of organisations who represent, or carry out research, on women working in the cultural and media industries in Ireland has issued a Harassment Toolkit, outlining what constitutes harassment and how it should be reported. The Toolkit also outlines organisations that exist to help support people who have been subjected to harassment. Amplify Women has the support and consist of some of the key industry players: Women in Film & Television, Irish Equity, Women in Animation, Members of #WakingTheFeminists, Writers Guild of Ireland, Broadly
Speaking, Screen Producers Ireland, and Screen Directors Guild of Ireland. Details of the Toolkit are in the Industry news section of this edition.
While the Toolkit has been published by Amplify Women it is important to remember that harassment is not defined by gender, nor is it perpetrated exclusively by one gender. Any person could be affected by it and many may not feel that they can even mention it. That is something that must change. It is imperative that incidents like this be brought into the light so that people are not left alone, afraid, or in the darkness.
Bullying in all of its forms is wrong, plain and simple. Having a position of power or perceived power is not an invitation to behave in a manner that goes against basic human decency and common courtesy.
We have a way to go yet to get true equality in our society. There is no getting away from that. But it is on each of us to ask how can we make it fairer? How can we make it equitable? And how can we best help those around us to do their best work?
Everyone benefits when everyone feels part of the same journey. It's not about backing one gender at the expense of another, or promoting one ideal over another. It's about ensuring that everyone has the same chance.
A simple statement, but a long and complicated road. The first step on that road is acknowledging what can and must be improved.
Niall Murphy
Managing Editor
T
CinÉireann / December 2017 3
EDITORIAL