The Nadigar Sangam, the union representing film, television, and stage actors in Tamil Nadu, has announced a new resolution aimed at supporting victims of sexual harassment in the Tamil film industry. The decision was made following a meeting of its Gender Sensitisation and Internal Committee on Wednesday.
According to the resolution, the Gender Sensitisation and Internal Committee will provide all necessary legal assistance to victims of sexual harassment within the industry. The committee emphasized that any complaint made by a woman regarding sexual harassment or related offences must be thoroughly investigated. If the complaint is found to be true, the union will recommend that the producers' association ban the perpetrators from the film industry for a period of five years, as per a report on IANS.
The Nadigar Sangam has set up a dedicated phone number and a new email address to facilitate the registration of complaints, ensuring victims have a secure and accessible way to report incidents.
The resolution said that initially a warning would be sounded to the alleged preparators following which an action will follow suit, as reported by The News Minute.
Additionally, the Nadigar Sangam affirmed its commitment to supporting those who wish to lodge complaints against inappropriate content on YouTube channels. In its statement, the union advised victims to first approach the Committee before speaking to the media directly about their complaints.
This move by the Nadigar Sangam follows the recent Hema Committee report, which was made public by the Kerala government and revealed widespread sexual exploitation of women in the Malayalam film industry. Since the release of the report, several complaints have been lodged against prominent film personalities in Kerala, prompting a similar call for action and accountability in the Tamil film industry.
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