The UK’s new independent body for reporting bullying and sexual harassment in the TV and film industries is to create industry-wide standards following a set of high-profile incidents, the latest being Gregg Wallace.
The Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority (CIISA) is seeking input for a consultation looking to inform minimum standards of behavior, which will close on January 27 before the standards are published the following month.
CIISA said these standards will be scalable to all productions and can “provide a framework for a single, unified vision of professional standards of behaviour within the creative industries.” Following the outcome of the consultation, CIISA will use the standards to benchmark how the creative industries are embedding safe and inclusive working environments against these expectations and will identify and produce industry-specific guidance based on them.
Plans for the broadcaster-backed CIISA were unveiled several years back by Time’s Up UK although the body is yet to open its anonymous reporting line as it seeks more funds. It is backed by huge stars including Keira Knightley, Emerald Fennell and Gemma Chan.
Niyi Akeju, CIISA’s Head of Standards Development said: “We are delighted to be launching our industry consultation of the CIISA Standards today. We invite our industry colleagues to review this carefully considered piece of work which we’ve compiled this year through detailed and extensive collaboration with key bodies in the film, television, theatre and music sectors, including our wonderfully supportive Standards Advisory Committee.”
The move follows several high-profile incidents mostly involving top BBC talent including last week’s allegations against MasterChef host Wallace. Wallace is accused by more than a dozen people including Kirsty Wark of making “inappropriate sexual comments” on shows across a 17-year period, and he has been stood down from MasterChef. In a letter to BBC News, Wallace’s lawyers denied he engaged in behavior of a “sexually harassing nature.” Wallace is just the latest star to face allegations of misconduct in recent months. The One Show presenter Jermaine Jenas was fired by the corporation for allegedly sending inappropriate messages to colleagues, while Strictly Come Dancing professional Graziano Di Prima was removed after admitting to kicking partner Zara McDermott during rehearsals. Also this year, BBC News anchor Huw Edwards pleaded guilty to accessing child abuse images.