New research by the Musicians Union published today reveals 48% of members surveyed have been sexually harassed at work, and more than half have witnessed incidents of sexual harassment while working.
Sexual harrasment is widespread – so much so that 61% of musicians who took the survey said they feel at greater risk of experiencing sexual harassment because of their freelance status.
An overwhelming majority of members who experienced sexual harassment at work said that they did not report their experiences (85%).
Their main reasons for not reporting were the culture where they worked (56%), followed by fear of losing work (41%).
“And who can blame them.” says the Union.
”We’ve seen first-hand how difficult it is for freelancers to report sexual harassment. We’ve seen musicians, mostly female, threatened, bad mouthed to colleagues, fired, not hired again and even sued by perpetrators – and the list goes on.”
The Union is calling on the Government to include strong protections for freelancers in all new laws to prevent sexual harassment at work and are asking people to sign a petition to be sent to the Culture Minister Liz Truss
