01 November, 2017

#AfterMeToo

Via The Globe & Mail -

The Canadian actress who is leading the #AfterMeToo movement is joining with colleagues to organize a two-day symposium to find the means to stop sexual harassment and assault in the film and television industry.

Mia Kirshner, who has starred on such series as The L Word, Lost Girl and Bloodline, is joining with producer/director Aisling Chin-Yee to create the Toronto event, which will be produced by actor/producer Freya Ravensbergen and Fluent Films, and sponsored by The Globe and Mail.

Ms. Kirshner has dubbed the symposium #AfterMeToo, borrowing the hashtag first used by Toronto employment lawyer Jennifer Mathers McHenry. It was the Canadian women's response to the sexual-harassment scandal which saw Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein and other male producers, directors and performers accused of harassment by multiple women and some men, many of them using the social-media hashtag #metoo. Ms. Kirshner has previously written in The Globe about suffering her own "ordeal" with Mr. Weinstein.

On Dec. 5, the symposium will gather roundtables of Canadian film and television professionals as well as legal and trauma experts and quiz them about possible solutions. They will be asked how the industry has protected sexual predators, how to measure the cost of sexual harassment and what laws or policies could be changed or enacted to improve the situation. The roundtables, which will be moderated by Globe writers including Denise Balkissoon and Janet McFarland, are expected to come up with practical suggestions that will be presented for discussion in a public town hall the following day, which will be produced by #AfterMeToo and The Globe's Hannah Sung. These sessions will also be streamed live on Facebook.

The Dec. 6 town hall, which is open by registration on a first-come, first-serve basis, will be held at The Globe's Toronto offices at 351 King St. East, and will give the public the opportunity to ask questions about proposed solutions. It coincides with the 28th anniversary of the shooting at Montreal's École Polytechnique, which killed 14 women.

"Though our focus is on the entertainment industry, sexual assault and harassment is an issue that affects us all regardless of industry or occupation," the organizers said in a statement. "Our goal is to create lasting changes in our industry and beyond."