Trade union Equity has introduced a new campaign to fight sexual harassment in the theater industry. Per The Stage, Equity unveiled Safe Space with the help of singer-actress Billie Piper, who is starring in “Yerma.” Piper and her fellow cast members are spearheading the initiative.
Safe Space was designed to provide union members with “the confidence to challenge inappropriate behavior and to report it knowing that the union is always there for them.” Equity has set up a harassment helpline and distributed posters to spread word of the program.
As part of Safe Space, Equity also put together a statement to be read at the beginning of a new production’s rehearsal period. It reads: “Every single one of us working on this project is entitled to work in a safe space: a space free of fear, a space free of bullying and harassment of any kind. We will work together honoring our differences and celebrating the gifts we each bring to the table. We will treat one another with politeness and respect at all times and, if we are subjected to or witness bullying and harassment, we will speak out knowing that our voices will be heard and we will be taken seriously. Together we can create a safe space.”
“Yerma” — in which Piper portrays the lead character, a woman desperate to conceive a child — will run at Park Avenue Armory’s Wade Thompson Drill Hall through April 1.
Equity isn’t the only organization working to combat harassment in theater. The New Yorker reports that, thanks to a nonprofit start-up, survivors can quickly document an assault. Launched in 2016, Callisto is a tool that allows survivors to “create a secure, time-stamped record of her assault, a so-called ‘information escrow.’” If more than one survivor is attacked by the same person, Callisto will offer to put the survivors in touch with one another. “With strength in numbers, they can decide how to proceed, whether by confronting their attacker, making a report to the police, or contacting the press.”
Thirteen colleges across the U.S. have implemented Callisto so far. The New Yorker writes that Dramatists Guild treasure and Lilly Awards exec director Julia Jordan and other members of the theater industry are pushing to adopt Callisto as well. Performers, writers, and other theater professionals learned about the tool recently at a packed meeting at the A.R.T./New York Theatres.
Callisto CEO/founder Jess Ladd and CTO Anjana Rajan made a presentation at the meeting and answered attendee questions. The service costs $40 USD per month, an expense Ladd hopes unions will cover as opposed to individuals. It is also a “shared system.” As Ladd explained, “[that] means that if somebody starts this behavior in college, and they continue it in grad school, and they continue it when they go to one industry, and they continue it when they go to another, their track record follows them.” Callisto will also retain reports, even if the users who submitted them quit the service.
As Ladd emphasized, there are plenty of reasons why assault survivors decide not to report an attack, such as shame, fear that no one will believe them, guilt, and a lack of faith in the criminal justice system. “But why victims do report is fairly consistent, and the №1 reason they do report is to protect others, to protect their community,” she observed.
Head over to The New Yorker to learn more about Callisto.
