MUMBAI: In order to create a safe environment for women in the film industry, the Producers Guild of India has said it has made implementation of laws pertaining to sexual harassment mandatory.
Within the first week of setting up a special committee on sexual harassment, the Producers Guild of India has called for an Extraordinary General Meeting to amend its by-laws.
The special committee members include Sneha Rajani (Committee Head), Kiran Rao, Ekta Kapoor, Apoorva Mehta, Fazila Allana, Jyoti Deshpande, Kulmeet Makkar, Madhu Bhojwani, Priti Shahani, Rohan Sippy, Siddharth Roy Kapur and Vijay Singh.
A statement issued by the Producers Guild of India reads, it is mandatory for members – both existing and new – to sign a declaration that affirms that ‘The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act 2013’ has been instituted and implemented in their workplaces, as prescribed by the law.
The declaration has to be signed and submitted by every member of the guild within 30 days.
Within the stipulated time, the Guild will schedule a series of workshops to be conducted by specialized external agencies, which will enable its members to institute and implement the act at their workplaces.
“Failure to submit the declaration to the Guild by the end of 30 days from its receipt, would result in expulsion from the Guild,” the statement read.
If any nominated representative of a guild member is adjudged to have engaged in sexual harassment by the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC), the Guild has the right to immediately expel the concerned person, it said.
“The committee will enable all Guild members to institute and implement robust processes in their workplaces to ensure the highest standards of safety for employees and crew members, whether in offices or on the sets of productions,” the statement said.
Several celebrities including Nana Patekar, Rajat Kapoor, Alok Nath, Abhijeet Bhattacharya, Kailash Kher, Sajid Khan, Vikas Bahl and Subhash Ghai have been accused of sexual harassment in the wake of India’s #MeToo movement. PTI
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