If a recent study by USA Today is any indication of how prevalent sexual harassment or assault is in Hollywood, then these celebs that spout off from their bully pulpits need to put a sock in their self-righteous grub holes.
The survey found a whopping 94 percent of the 843 polled women say that they’ve “experienced some form of sexual harassment or assault during their careers in Hollywood.”
Concerning the survey, USA Today reported:
Working in partnership with The Creative Coalition, Women in Film and Television and the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, USA TODAY surveyed 843 women who work in the entertainment industry in a variety of roles (producers, actors, writers, directors, editors and others) and asked them about their experiences with sexual misconduct.
The results are sobering: Nearly all of the women who responded to the survey (94%) say they have experienced some form of harassment or assault, often by an older individual in a position of power over the accuser.
What’s even more sobering are the specific numbers outlining the type of harassment or assault these women have encountered.
Some of the percentages include:
- Unwelcome sexual comments, jokes or gestures to or about you - 87 percent
- Propositioned for a sexual act/relationship - 64 percent
- Being touched in a sexual way - 69 percent
- Someone flashing/exposing themselves to you - 29 percent
- Being forced to do a sexual act - 21 percent
- Ordered unexpectedly to appear naked for auditions - 10 percent
Of course, the survey contained a couple questions that call into question its validity. For example, two criteria included "Witnessing others experiencing unwanted forms of sexual comments” (75 percent) and “Witnessing others advance professionally from sexual relationships with employer/managers” (65 percent).
I’m not trying diminish anyone’s experience with sexual harassment or assault. However, witnessing harassment doesn't count as personally experiencing it.
Regardless of that, the survey's findings still raise plenty of cause for alarm.
The Director of the Center for Gender Equity and Health at the University of California Anita Raj told the USA Today that while the numbers aren’t typical of these types of studies, she also said that considering the industry the results are not surprising.
“The percentages are higher than what we typically see for workplace abuses, but we know there is variation by the type of workplace," Raj said. "But it makes sense to me that we would see higher numbers (in the entertainment industry)," where the "casting couch" has prevailed for decades and is considered “normal."
Actual cases of sexual harassment or assault should absolutely not be tolerated, but the waters of what actually constitutes those crimes have been muddied to the point of confusion.
For USA Today's short video on the survey, watch below: