HARSH REALITIES AND USEFUL RESOURCES |
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Gender Gaps in the
Culture and Creative Sectors
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The EU Work Plan for Culture 2019-2022 selects gender equality as one of the five sectoral priorities for EU action. The European Expert Network on Culture and Audiovisual published in September 2020 a study on Gender Gaps in the Culture and Creative Sectors, where sexual harassment is one of the focal points. Its significant criticism is that current and systematic data on the issue is strongly lacking. The authors arrive at the conclusion that “contrary to the cool, informal, accessible and egalitarian reputation of the cultural and creative sectors, there are in fact more hidden hierarchies and power relations. The informality is a blessing and a curse it seems, as have been evinced in previous sections. Sexual harassment happens in the cultural and creative industries, and seems to be more prevalent in these sectors than in other economic sectors.”
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Sexual Harassment in the Research and Higher Education Sector
................................. The EU's European Research Area and Innovation Committee published a study in June 2020 called Sexual Harassment in the Research and Higher Education Sector: National Policies and Measures in EU Member States and Associated Countries. The study reveals that “ #MeToo knowledge and acknowledgement in several Member States and Associated Countries remains weak” and that “ gender-based violence is, with a few exceptions, an unrecognised issue”. It also reveals that “ a cohesive infrastructure to tackle gender-based violence is missing”, that “ no country has done sufficient work to combat gender-based violence”; and that “ only a few countries have introduced cohesive measures and activities that may be able to achieve institutional change.” Higher Arts and Culture Educational institutions are within the realm of the study. |
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Manual to
Combat Sexual Harassment
................................. FIA, Federation of International Actors, has worked extensively on commissioning and compiling resources for its members and beyond to combat sexual harassment. Their manual published in January 2020 is available in English, French and Spanish and is a very useful tool for organisations in the culture sector to use, when planning their own campaigns and actions. In addition, FIA has a webpage filled with many useful resources, inspirations and good practices, such as surveys, codes of conduct, campaigns and Tools, Tips and Tricks of the Trade. We believe that these FIA resources, created for the performing arts, can be equally useful for other sub-sectors in our field. |
Study on Gender-Based Harassment in the Icelandic Performing Arts
................................. RIKK - the University of Iceland Institute for Gender, Equality and Difference, published a research in November 2020 on sexual and gender-based harassment and bullying in the Icelandic Performing Arts. Researchers circulated a survey among all members of the performing arts labor unions in Iceland. The response rate was 42%, with 59% of them being from female members and 41% from male members. The results show that 52% of professionals have been sexually harassed in connection to their work or studying. 60% of those are female, 40% are male. Women are much more likely to consider their experience as “serious”. Only women report on rape or attempted rape. |
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Tools and Guidelines
to End Sexism in the Arts
................................. Engagement is an artist-led movement tackling sexual harassment, sexism and abuse of power in the Belgian arts field. Engagement approaches sexual harassment and gender-based violence through the lens of intersectional feminism. Engagement has worked on several tools and guidelines which we believe can be useful for the cultural sector at large. |
Gender Equality: Gender Balance in the Cultural and Creative Sectors
................................. Voices of Culture, which aims to enable a structured dialogue between the European Commission and the culture sector, published in February 2020 a brainstorm report which, among other topics, put sexual violence in focus and lists several recommendations for the EU and the European cultural and creative sectors to ensure enduring change. |
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An Opportunity to Create Change
................................. In 2018, Sweden set up a Commission on Sexual Harassment in the Performing Arts, in the aftermath of #MeToo. This Commission published a report, An Opportunity to Create Change, which mapped and analysed quite extensively the situation in the Swedish performing arts and the legal framework protecting victims, and submitted proposals for intervention. In addition, extra material was produced in order to facilitate the discussion of the report and the topic of sexual harassment. © Bartosz Kwitkowski |
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ABOUT SHIFT - SHARED INITIATIVES FOR TRAINING |
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SHIFT – Shared Initiatives for Training is an Erasmus+ funded strategic partnership project, bringing together several cultural networks with the ambition to contribute to a better and more sustainable future as recognised in the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). |
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| SHIFT aims to develop training for cultural leaders on the topics of Environmental Sustainability, Gender and Power Relations, Inclusion, and Cultural Leadership. IETM is the lead partner of the Gender and Power Relations Package. |
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