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Especially in creative fields, intense and informal collaboration often leads to greater physical and emotional closeness than in conventional working relations. This can create a breeding ground for bullying, discrimination and sexual harassment

The trade association Film and Music Austria consistently advocates for the creation of a safe working environment in which fear and violence, whether physical or emotional, have no place. With the “Bring it to light” campaign, we offer assistance to those affected, provide information about the legal situation and support businesses in fulfilling their duty of care. Both in preventing and remedying abuse. 

Together, we want to create a culture of awareness in order to ban bullying, discrimination and sexual harassment from our working environment. 

Bullying is the repeated physical or verbal attacking of people. It can take place face to face or in writing via letters, emails, chat groups, social media postings, pranks and more. 

Examples of bullying include: 

  • Spreading rumors
  • Unfair treatment of people
  • Pranks or teasing
  • Badmouthing work performance
  • Social isolation and withholding information

Discrimination is the devaluation of individuals or groups based on certain characteristics. This includes gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion, age, ideology, dialect, disability and chronic illness, or other personal attributes.

Sexual harassment includes all situations in which unwanted behavior of a sexual nature occurs. This can be physical, verbal or non-verbal. 

Examples of sexual harassment are 

  • Sexually explicit images in the workplace
  • Suggestive remarks about appearance or sexual behavior
  • “Accidental” physical touching or suggestions thereof
  • Innuendos with a sexual context
  • Exhibitionist behavior
  • Threat of professional disadvantages in case of sexual refusal

Bullying, discrimination and sexual harassment are not only unacceptable, they are also punishable by law! Nevertheless, assaults and abuses are far too often kept quiet – out of fear of professional repercussions, insecurity about what has happened or out of shame. This culture of silence only protects one group: the perpetrators. 

The most important thing is that those affected know who they can turn to. Employers should communicate clearly and visibly where they can get help and that their personal rights and, if desired, their anonymity will be protected!

Trusted persons in internal or external contact points can offer support. Internal and external points of contact have various advantages and disadvantages; depending on the severity or complexity of the incident, both types of contact points can be used. 

Advantages:

  • Immediate proximity of the trusted person (faster response, knowledge of local conditions)
  • Anti-discrimination becomes a “matter for the boss”
  • Consequences can be implemented. 

Disadvantages:

  • Dependencies and restraint on the part of those affected if the person of trust has production responsibility
  • Delayed implementation due to time pressure on the project
  • Trusted person may lack know-how (special education/training)

Advantages:

  • Anonymity and impartiality are preserved
  • Experts for labor law and legal advice
  • Know-how and experience

Disadvantages:

  • Employers do not find out that an incident has occurred and cannot take any action
  • Those affected are left to their own devices in the professional setting

The contact and advice center for film and television professionals in Austria supports those affected in cases of abuse of power, exploitation, harassment and discrimination. Additionally, it assists production companies with prevention efforts and raising awareness.

The vera* Trust Center against Harassment and Violence in the arts, culture, and sports offers guidance and support to individuals affected by harassment and violence. It informs them of their options and provides expert advice and assistance.

The Ombud for Equal Treatment is an independent advice and support center for discrimination experiences. The Office of the Equal Treatment helps to enforce rights and offers free advice as well as prevention consultation for businesses. 

If an assault is reported, the protection of the person affected comes first. Employers must ensure that the person is not exposed to any further assaults! 

At the same time, it is essential to avoid prematurely judging the accused or publicly denouncing them.

  • Follow up on a report of harassment immediately
  • Provide initial remedy  
  • Clarify the facts
  • Adjust the remedy

Following the report, immediate steps must be taken to ensure the safety of the person affected. Ideally, this would include transferring the accused (or affected) person to another workplace or to another project. At the same time, the person affected should – if they wish – be given emotional support, if necessary, with psychological counseling. Beyond the legal requirements, employers should discuss the desired steps with those affected and listen to them. And: If there is any uncertainty about how to proceed, companies can also contact third party advice. 

  • Admonishment
  • Transfer
  • Dismissal
  • Dismissal with immediate effect

The presence of a trusted person provides effective protection against further assaults.

An employment relationship can be terminated in different ways. The relevant statutory regulations or collective bargaining provisions apply:

  • notice by the employer in compliance with the notice period
  • notice by employees in compliance with the notice period
  • dismissal with immediate effect
  • early departure for health reasons
  • through a mutually agreed termination

The situation must be monitored even after a remedy has been implemented. It must be determined to what extent the affected persons should continue to be supported. 

In order to prevent rumors and tensions at the workplace and to prevent incidents in the future, the team should also be informed that, and which, steps have been taken – and that abuse will not be tolerated. 

If employers fulfill their duty of care and ensure a safe and violence-free working environment, this not only protects those affected, but also the company as a whole. Bullying, discrimination and sexual harassment can have serious social, legal and financial consequences for the company, such as compensation payments under the Equal Treatment Act or the repayment of public funding. 

If an employment relationship is terminated prematurely or a project is canceled as a result of a serious violation, considerable additional costs may arise, such as the repayment of contract sums due to missed deadlines or non-compliance with the completion guarantee. Interested parties, such as funding bodies and co-production partners or broadcasters/streamers, should be contacted immediately in the event of an incident.

Employers bear a great deal of responsibility. They have the duty to protect the team – not only from abuse, but also from negative economic consequences. It is therefore advisable to take precautions in service and work contracts. 

In its guidelines, the trade association recommends contract stipulations that existing codes of conduct/ethics are an important part of the contract and the employees’ duties. All breaches of these codes of conduct constitute a material breach of employment duties, which will be punished with appropriate consequences under employment law. 

Depending on the legal framework and the economic possibilities of the individual employees, compensation and hold harmless agreements can be included in the service contract. These include, in particular, damages in connection with the inability to continue production, additional costs due to missed deadlines or the repayment of contract amounts due to non-compliance with the completion guarantee.

Contractual penalties may be imposed if filming is interrupted or if a change in cast becomes necessary due to unacceptable conduct that hinders continued employment.

Ideally, no incidents should occur at all. Assaults can not only lead to physical and mental illness, they are extremely unprofessional, disruptive and demotivating and should not be tolerated under any circumstances, especially in the workplace. Regardless of specific occurrences, organizations must foster an environment where bullying, discrimination, and sexual harassment are unacceptable, as part of their duty of care. 

The management should communicate clearly at the start of every project that bullying, discrimination and sexual harassment will not be tolerated. In the event of an incident, even a generic disclosure of an offense – without mentioning names or details – can increase vigilance within the team. 

A jointly developed code of conduct should be signed by all workers and contractors – and violations should be punished. (see Code of Conduct/Ethics)

The contractual clauses on the financial responsibility of perpetrators described in the section “Employer protection” not only act as deterrents, but also protect the company and its employees from financial risks. 

Everyone should know how they can react and where they can get help. Contact information of trusted persons and internal and external contact points should be made available.  

Joint training sessions with experts, in which legal provisions and procedures in the event of incidents are discussed, are effective and useful in order to avoid assaults. The same applies to briefings during warm-ups and pre-production meetings.  

All workers should be encouraged to address and report incidents of bullying, discrimination and sexual harassment immediately. It is better to report it once too often than once too little. 

All these measures should be evaluated on an ongoing basis and adapted if necessary!

WK Burgenland
T +43 5 90 907 2320
E wkbgld@wkbgld.at

WK Oberösterreich
T +43 5 90 909
E service@wkooe.at

WK Tirol
T +43 5 90 905 1111
E arbeitsrecht@wktirol.at

WK Kärnten
T +43 5 90 904 777
E sofortservice@wkk.or.at

WK Salzburg
T +43 662 88 88 316
E sozialpolitik@wks.at

WK Vorarlberg
T +43 5522 305 1122
E rechtsservice@wkv.at

WK Niederösterreich
T +43 2742 851 17301
E sozialpolitik@wknoe.at

WK Steiermark
T +43 316 601 601
E rechtsservice@wkstmk.at

WK Wien
T +43 1 514 50 1690
E arbeitsrecht@wkw.at

Ombud for Equal Treatment
T 0800 206 119
E gaw@bka.gv.at

The contact and advice center for film and television professionals in Austria supports those affected in cases of abuse of power, exploitation, harassment and discrimination. Additionally, it assists production companies with prevention efforts and raising awareness.

The vera* trust center against harassment and violence in art, culture and sport supports those affected by harassment and violence, shows them possible courses of action and accompanies them through the next steps. 

The Ombud for Equal Treatment (Gleichbehandlungsanwaltschaft GBA) is an independent institution in Austria tasked with preventing and combating discrimination. It offers advice and support to people who report an incident. 

The crisis hotline ‘Männerinfo’ supports boys and men in acute crises and conflict situations and provides advice and assistance. 

Gewaltinfo is a platform against violence provided by the Austrian Federal Chancellery. The platform lists hotlines and emergency numbers, and provides advice, online information and contact details for aid organizations.

Verena Altenberger
for her strong voice against bullying, discrimination and sexual harassment
(English version voiced by Julie McCarthy)

Sunshine Mastering
for the professional and pro bono sound production of the film

Diagonale
for bringing our campaign „to light”