Workplace Report October 2021

Health & safety news

Sexual harassment ‘rife in music industry’

Sexual harassment and abuse remain rife in the music industry, despite the #MeToo movement, says the MU musicians’ union. It pointed to new reports from a group of women, all ex-employees and freelancers from a well-known music promotions company in the north of England, which reveal shocking testimonies of ill-treatment, sexual harassment and assault at the hands of their employer.

“I experienced sexual harassment constantly at work – both in and outside of the office,” said one anonymous case study. “I was regularly groped and touched inappropriately. Outside the workplace, my manager would often send me lewd, explicit photos or videos of himself. I never felt safe.”

MU deputy general secretary Naomi Pohl called on the industry to adopt “a zero-tolerance approach to ensure everyone in the creative arts is protected as they return to work” and said the government must “strengthen the law to prevent sexual harassment at work before it happens”.

https://musiciansunion.org.uk/campaigns/end-sexual-harassment-at-work