Women’s panel plans survey into sexual harassment issues in Kannada film industry
The Karnataka Women’s Commission on Monday announced that it plans to conduct a confidential survey to assess the extent of sexual harassment faced by women in the Kannada film industry.
The Karnataka Women’s Commission on Monday announced that it plans to conduct a confidential survey to assess the extent of sexual harassment faced by women in the Kannada film industry.
The survey, announced amid rising concerns of sexual harassment in film industries across the country, will determine whether a more thorough probe is needed on the lines of the Hema probe panel in the Malayalam film industry.
Separately, the Kannada Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC) will establish Prevention of Sexual Harassment (PoSH) Committees across its affiliated organizations to improve workplace safety for women. The decision was taken during a meeting chaired by Karnataka Women’s Commission chairperson Nagalakshmi Chowdhary, which was attended by KFCC president Suresh and other industry representatives.
During the meeting, Suresh assured the Women’s Commission that the KFCC would address the demand for better basic amenities for women in the workplace, alongside the formation of the PoSH Committees. Nagalakshmi stressed the importance of these committees as a deterrent to any form of misconduct, stating, “The PoSH Committees will be critical in ensuring a safer work environment for women in the Kannada film industry.”
A formal letter requesting the establishment of the committees will be sent to the KFCC, which will respond once the committees are in place.
The meeting was convened in response to a memorandum submitted by the Film Industry for Rights and Equality (FIRE). Led by director Kavitha Lankesh, FIRE called on the government to form a committee, overseen by a retired high court or Supreme Court judge, to investigate issues like sexual harassment in the Kannada film industry.
In the memorandum, Lankesh cited the Justice Hema Committee’s report, which detailed systemic harassment in the Malayalam film industry, and called for similar action in Karnataka. Lankesh said, “The commission has given 15 days to chamber to form the committee, while the process of conducting the survey doesn’t have a deadline so far. The commission will have to talk to women in affiliated associations of the film industry. Whatever the survey finds will decide the next step towards forming a committee.”