The State Government has constituted a three-member panel to examine and formulate an implementation plan for the Hema Commission report to address issues of sexual harassment and gender inequality in the Malayalam film industry. The panel consists of the Chalachitra Academy Secretary Ajoy Chandran, a Deputy Secretary from the Culture Department and an Under Secretary from the Law Department.
The Commission, constituted in the aftermath of the case involving the sexual assault of an actor in 2017, had submitted the report to the Chief Minister on December 31, 2019. In recent weeks, the Government had come under criticism for the delay in the implementation of the report, three years after its submission. Several actors and others working in industry had recorded detailed testimonies of the issues of sexual harassment, unofficial bans, wage payments and other disputes before the commission.
A Chalachitra Academy official said that the Government had in 2020, after the submission of the Commission report, asked the Academy to submit proposals to tackle the various issues prevailing in the industry. Following this, the Academy had submitted the proposals in November 2020, which among other things suggested the setting up of a legal aid cell and counseling mechanisms to support those who face various issues. It also suggested steps to ensure the setting up of an Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) in all film sets.
“Things were not in a standstill after the Commission report was submitted. The Culture Ministers in the previous Government as well as the current one chaired meetings especially to discuss the way forward following the submission of the Commission report. A tribunal mechanism is being considered without coming into conflict with the responsibilities of the existing mechanisms including the Women’s Commission and the Labour Commission. Such issues can be directed to the existing mechanisms. Regarding the setting up of ICC, we also need to parallely create awareness regarding this within the industry,” said the official.
The Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) has been constantly raising the non-implementation of the Hema Commission report. With the sexual assault case back in the spotlight, following various revelations against the accused actor Dileep, the demands for the implementation had also got louder.
