THE media, arts and entertainments industries are hotspots for workplace bullying with more than half of four thousand workers who responded to a survey saying they had been bullied, harassed or discriminated against at work.
People who contributed to a survey ranged from household names, top screenwriters and performers to those at the beginning of their careers.
The results showed shocking levels of ill-treatment and inappropriate behaviour and a culture of silence, with only a third of those suffering bullying and harassment reporting the incidents.
Eight out of 10 women (81 per cent) who reported bullying, harassment and discrimination said their gender was a factor.
The respondents reported incidents from lewd comments to sexual assault and commented on pressure from superiors to enter sexual relationships and unnecessary scripted nudity.
Women said they had to develop strategies to avoid sexual harassment as their career progressed, but then found they were discriminated against because of age and were viewed as beyond their shelf-life. One in ten respondents in theatre, television and film witnessed sexually-related harassment.
The survey showed that bullying in the newspaper sector was “exceptionally high”.
The report, by Cathy John, senior lecturer in cultural theory and policy, at Arts University Bournemouth, said: “All survey respondents working in local papers had been bullied, harassed or discriminated against.”
The figure for national papers was 74 per cent.
Michelle Stanistreet, National Union of Journalists general secretary, said: “It has been heart-breaking to deal with members whose dreams have been shattered because of the behaviour of their managers and of failure of employers to tackle bullying and bullies.
“I have heard testimonies from members who said, ‘News editors threw reporters on to the same story, everyone was terrified of putting a foot wrong. People were put under such pressure. Reporters were effectively encouraged to shaft each other. It was such a demoralising situation’ and from women journalists who had been offered promotion in return for having sex with their boss.”
The results of the survey were released at a “Creating without Conflict” conference today organised by the Federation of Entertainment Unions as part of a campaign to challenge bullying and harassment in the entertainment industries.
