Filmmakers complain of bullying, discrimination and sexual harassment

A recent survey conducted by the Film and TV Charity has shown that over 50% of respondents working within the UK’s screen industries claim to have experienced “bullying, sexual or racial harassment or discrimination, or other harassment or discrimination in the past year alone.”

The report follows up on a similar survey conducted by the same charity in 2019, when it “uncovered a mental health crisis in the UK film and TV industry.”

The latest survey, dubbed ‘The Looking Glass ‘21’, which drew in some 2,000 eligible responses, found that work intensity and long hours have contributed to the industry’s worsening mental health conditions. The overall number of respondents claiming to have poor mental health went up from 63% in 2019 to 78% in 2021, while the number of people who attributed their mental health issues to the industry’s “culture and values” rose from 29% in 2019 to 51% in 2021.

The report also revealed that the “majority of respondents (57%) had experienced bullying, sexual harassment, racial harassment or discrimination, or other forms of harassment or discrimination in the past year alone,” while nearly 40% of black, Asian, and minority ethnic respondents said they had experienced “racial harassment or discrimination,” causing 43% of them to consider leaving the industry.

“2019’s Looking Glass report gave The Film and TV Charity the impetus to get to work to mitigate the serious concerns it found,” said Alex Pumfrey, the charity’s CEO. “Two years on, Looking Glass ’21 shows us that, despite stability and remarkable resilience in some areas, there is still much more that we must do – and the urgency is especially acute when we consider the strain being placed on the mental health of people in the industry from under-represented communities, including our disabled workforce and Black, Asian and minority ethnic workforce. In particular, the mental health impacts of individual experiences of racial harassment and discrimination, has been brought to the fore.”

Pumfrey continued by urging the industry to “step up to the plate” to implement the proposed changes, interventions, and mental health programs offered by his charity in the Whole Picture Programme, which includes the Freelancer Wellbeing Hub and Bullying Advice Service.