The Film and TV Charity has published its latest Looking Glass ‘24 Deep Dive, focusing on Workplace bullying, harassment and discrimination in UK film, TV and cinema.

With rates of bullying, harassment, and discrimination up to three times worse in the film and TV industry than in the wider working population, the report, which further examines data from the Charity’s 2024 Looking Glass Report, outlines areas where progress has been seen, how it disproportionately affects some groups, as well as underlining the urgent need for further change.

Key Insights:

· A widespread problem: 32 per cent had experienced bullying or harassment over the past 12 months. 19 per cent had experienced discrimination. Combined, 41 per cent (two in every five respondents) had experienced bullying, harassment, or discrimination over the past 12 months.

· Culture of silence: Over half (53 per cent) of those who experienced bullying, harassment, or discrimination in the past year did not report it to anyone.

· Leadership accountability: 74 per cent of those who experienced bullying or harassment identified their manager as the source.

· Lack of industry’s capability: 42 per cent of respondents do not believe that reports of bullying, harassment, or discrimination would be acted on where they work, regardless of who the perpetrator is.

Training gaps: 27 per cent of respondents who had a colleague report such behaviour felt unequipped to respond effectively

The report highlights that experiences of bullying or harassment in the past 12 months were disproportionately reported by certain demographic groups: individuals with a disability (40 per cent, compared to 30 per cent among those with no disability), neurodivergent respondents (39 per cent, compared to 30 per cent among neurotypical respondents), those caring for adult dependents (38 per cent, compared to 29 per cent among those caring for children and 32 per cent among those with no caring responsibilities), Black and Global Majority respondents (36 per cent, compared to 31 per cent among white respondents), LGBTQ+ respondents (36 per cent, compared to 32 per cent among heterosexual respondents),women (35 per cent, compared to 27 per cent among men), and Hindus (52 per cent), Buddhists (43 per cent), and Muslims (42 per cent). The data also allowed for more specific detail on the nature of discrimination certain groups faced.

Intersectional analysis reveals that individuals with multiple marginalised identity characteristics face even greater risks. For example, nearly half (46 per cent) of Black and Global Majority respondents from working-class backgrounds reported experiencing bullying or harassment in the past 12 months – significantly higher than their peers from other combinations of ethnicities and socioeconomic backgrounds.

Despite the sobering findings, the data reveals a gradual decline in the prevalence of bullying, harassment, and discrimination in the film and TV industry – falling from 53 per cent in 2021 to 46 per cent in 2022, and now 41 per cent in 2024 – providing signs of positive change and that specific interventions from across the industry are starting to have an impact. The Charity’s own intervention support, the Bullying Advice Service, launched in 2021, continues to provide impartial, one-to-one support and guidance for all industry professionals, whether freelance or permanent, who have experienced or witnessed such behaviour while working in the sector.

Both managers and non-managers indicated that establishing a confidential, independent reporting body would be helpful for dealing with reports of bullying, harassment and discrimination. This highlights the importance of the forthcoming full launch of the Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority (CIISA), which the Charity is committed to working closely with.

Jen Smith, CEO of CIISA, who provided a guest foreword to the report, said: “The failure to grip this problem has significant economic consequences; workplace conflict leads to a staggering £1.8 billion in lost productivity and growth each year in the UK’s creative industries and impacts around 700,000 people. CIISA exists to close the damaging accountability gap that has persisted for too long in our creative sector. The Film and TV Charity’s work in uncovering and addressing the devastating human cost of bullying, harassment, and discrimination in the screen industries is vital and we are grateful for their valuable partnership, as we work towards our shared aims through our distinctive roles.”

Marcus Ryder, CEO of the Film and TV Charity, added: “We’ve timed the publication of this latest Looking Glass Deep Dive for Bullying Awareness Week so that it can serves as a call to action – not just for policymakers and industry leaders, but for everyone working in film and TV. The culture of silence the report highlights must end, informal hierarchies must be challenged, and the belief that change is impossible must give way to the conviction that it can – and is – happening.”

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