Post by Teddy Bear on May 2, 2013 19:23:50 GMT
Rotten outside, rotten inside.
A long-awaited report into bullying and harassment at the BBC, which was commissioned in the wake of the Jimmy Savile scandal, has revealed there were 37 formal complaints of sexual harassment over the past six years.
No disciplinary measures were taken and in some cases perpetrators were promoted even after complaints had been upheld against them.
This comes on the day that former BBC presenter Stuart Hall pleaded guilty to indecently assaulting 13 girls, same as young as 9 years old.
The report said the BBC had not been clear enough about the standard of behaviour that was expected from all staff including on-air ‘talent’.
I find this a strange ‘finding’.
Society makes it pretty clear about what is and what is not acceptable behaviour.
Clearly Barrister Rose, the person who made the report, perceives that the BBC operates within its own world to make this assessment, and in my opinion this should be part of her finding, as well as showing the disgusting dynamics within this publicly funded organisation.
We knew already the BBC operates within its own world, which is why it is all too often at the expense of our own. Well past time to end any licence fee funding and put them in the real world.
A long-awaited report into bullying and harassment at the BBC, which was commissioned in the wake of the Jimmy Savile scandal, has revealed there were 37 formal complaints of sexual harassment over the past six years.
No disciplinary measures were taken and in some cases perpetrators were promoted even after complaints had been upheld against them.
This comes on the day that former BBC presenter Stuart Hall pleaded guilty to indecently assaulting 13 girls, same as young as 9 years old.
The report said the BBC had not been clear enough about the standard of behaviour that was expected from all staff including on-air ‘talent’.
I find this a strange ‘finding’.
Society makes it pretty clear about what is and what is not acceptable behaviour.
Clearly Barrister Rose, the person who made the report, perceives that the BBC operates within its own world to make this assessment, and in my opinion this should be part of her finding, as well as showing the disgusting dynamics within this publicly funded organisation.
We knew already the BBC operates within its own world, which is why it is all too often at the expense of our own. Well past time to end any licence fee funding and put them in the real world.
BBC reveals there have been 37 complaints of sexual harassment in past six years as it publishes report on bullying
By Paul Revoir
A long-awaited report into bullying and harassment at the BBC, which was commissioned in the wake of the Jimmy Savile scandal, has revealed there were 37 formal complaints of sexual harassment over the past six years.
No disciplinary measures were taken and in some cases perpetrators were promoted even after complaints had been upheld against them.
The review found there was a perception within the organisation that BBC stars did not have to adhere to the same rules as normal staff because they could ‘wield power’.
It also said some on-air talent’s behaviour was ‘often inappropriate’ and in certain cases should be categorised as ‘renowned’.
Barrister Dinah Rose’s findings are particularly embarrassing for the corporation which came out on the same day its former presenter Stuart Hall pleaded guilty to indecently assaulting 13 girls aged as young as nine.
While the 80-page Respect At Work linked the ‘untouchable’ treatment of stars directly to bullying and inappropriate behaviour, rather than sexual harassment, it none the less added to the impression of a celebrity obsessed culture at the broadcaster.
Yesterday director general Lord Hall admitted the report made ‘uncomfortable reading’ and said there would now be ‘zero-tolerance’ of bullying and harassment.
As part of the report being published the corporation also revealed that it will now drop gagging orders from all BBC contracts in the future.
There has been deep concern in the past that the BBC has been able prevent people speaking out about their treatment at the corporation as a result of these clauses in their contracts.
While the report said sexual harassment was much less common than bullying, it did admit there was evidence that some individuals working at the BBC had made ‘unwanted and inappropriate sexual advances’ to their colleagues or staff.
In some cases people had been given warnings about their behaviour but then gone on to repeat their harassment of the person.
Between April 2005 and December 2012 there had also been six employment tribunal claims which included allegations of sexual harassment.
The report added that in sexual harassment cases there was a tendency for the victim to be ‘young and in the early stages of their career’ and ‘almost exclusively female’ while the perpetrators tended to be men and in ‘positions of influence’.
Victims had complained that they had ‘nowhere safe and confidential to go’ to report the problem and to ‘see it acted upon’.
Miss Rose’s research found concerns about bullying and other forms of inappropriate behaviour were ‘much more prominent’ than sexual harassment.
In this types of cases it was said that some bosses and stars were seen as ‘untouchable’ because of their ‘perceived value to the BBC’.
The report once again created the impression of an organisation that was submissive to the talent it often pays large amounts of money to.
It said: ‘There is a perception that “talent” are treated differently and don’t have to adhere to the same rules because they wield power over the organisation and anyone who tries to manage them.
‘In many cases, the BBC does not directly employ them and so people are quite unsure about what interventions are possible.’
The review said it had heard of examples of talent whose behaviour was ‘often inappropriate’ and their actions were what it would class as ‘visible’ and in some cases ‘renowned’.
People who gave evidence to the review were said to have been ‘fearful of raising complaints’ about bullying and harassment, because they feared it would impact on their career.
The report, which spoke of ‘known bullies’ at the corporation, noted: ‘Throughout our conversations we heard a strong undercurrent of fear; fear of speaking out, fear of reprisal, fear of losing your job, being made redundant, fear of becoming a victim, fear of getting a reputation as a troublemaker and not getting promoted if an employee, or further work if a freelancer, supplier or contractor.’
One contributor told the review: ‘People are afraid to complain, there is a huge fear of reputational loss and shame. These are the invisible silencing mechanisms.’ Of the 37 cases of sexual harassment only 25 resulted in a formal disciplinary process.
The report said the BBC had not been clear enough about the standard of behaviour that was expected from all staff including on-air ‘talent’.
The BBC will now launch a range of new measures to tackle the problem including a confidential helpline for support with bullying and harassment and making it explicitly clear to employees that must not behave in this way.
The report, which did not name any individuals, heard from 930 people ranging from presenters, senior bosses through to technicians and engineers.
The BBC’s management admitted some managers at the BBC were ‘concerned’ they would become part of a ‘witch-hunt’ by disgruntled staff as part of the process.
While the corporation announced an end to gagging clauses it did admit it would continue to use confidentiality agreements where appropriate.
Michelle Stanistreet, general secretary of the National Union of Journalists, welcomed action to tackle bullying, and said: ‘It is quite clear that bullying has become an institutionalised problem at the BBC, one that has taken hold over many years.’
BBC Trust chairman Lord Patten said: ‘Sexual harassment and bullying have no place at the BBC and should be acted on and stamped out.’
- Report was commissioned in the wake of the Jimmy Savile scandal
- No disciplinary measures were taken and in some cases perpetrators were promoted
- Stars thought they did not have to adhere to the same rules as normal staff
By Paul Revoir
A long-awaited report into bullying and harassment at the BBC, which was commissioned in the wake of the Jimmy Savile scandal, has revealed there were 37 formal complaints of sexual harassment over the past six years.
No disciplinary measures were taken and in some cases perpetrators were promoted even after complaints had been upheld against them.
The review found there was a perception within the organisation that BBC stars did not have to adhere to the same rules as normal staff because they could ‘wield power’.
It also said some on-air talent’s behaviour was ‘often inappropriate’ and in certain cases should be categorised as ‘renowned’.
Barrister Dinah Rose’s findings are particularly embarrassing for the corporation which came out on the same day its former presenter Stuart Hall pleaded guilty to indecently assaulting 13 girls aged as young as nine.
While the 80-page Respect At Work linked the ‘untouchable’ treatment of stars directly to bullying and inappropriate behaviour, rather than sexual harassment, it none the less added to the impression of a celebrity obsessed culture at the broadcaster.
Yesterday director general Lord Hall admitted the report made ‘uncomfortable reading’ and said there would now be ‘zero-tolerance’ of bullying and harassment.
As part of the report being published the corporation also revealed that it will now drop gagging orders from all BBC contracts in the future.
There has been deep concern in the past that the BBC has been able prevent people speaking out about their treatment at the corporation as a result of these clauses in their contracts.
While the report said sexual harassment was much less common than bullying, it did admit there was evidence that some individuals working at the BBC had made ‘unwanted and inappropriate sexual advances’ to their colleagues or staff.
In some cases people had been given warnings about their behaviour but then gone on to repeat their harassment of the person.
Between April 2005 and December 2012 there had also been six employment tribunal claims which included allegations of sexual harassment.
The report added that in sexual harassment cases there was a tendency for the victim to be ‘young and in the early stages of their career’ and ‘almost exclusively female’ while the perpetrators tended to be men and in ‘positions of influence’.
Victims had complained that they had ‘nowhere safe and confidential to go’ to report the problem and to ‘see it acted upon’.
Miss Rose’s research found concerns about bullying and other forms of inappropriate behaviour were ‘much more prominent’ than sexual harassment.
In this types of cases it was said that some bosses and stars were seen as ‘untouchable’ because of their ‘perceived value to the BBC’.
The report once again created the impression of an organisation that was submissive to the talent it often pays large amounts of money to.
It said: ‘There is a perception that “talent” are treated differently and don’t have to adhere to the same rules because they wield power over the organisation and anyone who tries to manage them.
‘In many cases, the BBC does not directly employ them and so people are quite unsure about what interventions are possible.’
The review said it had heard of examples of talent whose behaviour was ‘often inappropriate’ and their actions were what it would class as ‘visible’ and in some cases ‘renowned’.
People who gave evidence to the review were said to have been ‘fearful of raising complaints’ about bullying and harassment, because they feared it would impact on their career.
The report, which spoke of ‘known bullies’ at the corporation, noted: ‘Throughout our conversations we heard a strong undercurrent of fear; fear of speaking out, fear of reprisal, fear of losing your job, being made redundant, fear of becoming a victim, fear of getting a reputation as a troublemaker and not getting promoted if an employee, or further work if a freelancer, supplier or contractor.’
One contributor told the review: ‘People are afraid to complain, there is a huge fear of reputational loss and shame. These are the invisible silencing mechanisms.’ Of the 37 cases of sexual harassment only 25 resulted in a formal disciplinary process.
The report said the BBC had not been clear enough about the standard of behaviour that was expected from all staff including on-air ‘talent’.
The BBC will now launch a range of new measures to tackle the problem including a confidential helpline for support with bullying and harassment and making it explicitly clear to employees that must not behave in this way.
The report, which did not name any individuals, heard from 930 people ranging from presenters, senior bosses through to technicians and engineers.
The BBC’s management admitted some managers at the BBC were ‘concerned’ they would become part of a ‘witch-hunt’ by disgruntled staff as part of the process.
While the corporation announced an end to gagging clauses it did admit it would continue to use confidentiality agreements where appropriate.
Michelle Stanistreet, general secretary of the National Union of Journalists, welcomed action to tackle bullying, and said: ‘It is quite clear that bullying has become an institutionalised problem at the BBC, one that has taken hold over many years.’
BBC Trust chairman Lord Patten said: ‘Sexual harassment and bullying have no place at the BBC and should be acted on and stamped out.’
