The survivor in the actor Dileep sexual assault case, will act in a new feature film and the film will have an Internal Committee (IC) to address workplace sexual harassment complaints on set.
The actress is making a comeback to the Malayalam film industry after five years. A survivor of sexual assault and fighting her case for the past five years, she is setting a strong example by coming back to work in a film which has a mechanism to address sexual harassment complaints.
The producers of the movie have set up three different teams to deal with complaints and suggestions to deal with sexual harassment complaints.
This includes a team for workplace harassment, one for general complaints and a third for suggestions, headed by Advocate Noorjehan KM (workplace harassment).
The film-makers have also issued a code of conduct and an IC flowchart describing the process to lodge a complaint.
The IC Flowchart
(Photo: The News Minute)
The IC will take both complaints and suggestions which will be forwarded to the respective committees (workplace harassment and general complaints). These will be acknowledged within 24 hours.
The complaints will be investigated by the respective teams and then a review will be done of the investigation. If the complainant is happy with the resolution, the case is closed. Otherwise, it will be handed over to external legal bodies.
The document on the code of conduct is to be read and understood by all members of the cast and crew. It details what accounts as sexual harassment – subjecting anyone to an unwelcoming sexually determined behaviour, presence or occurrence of circumstance of implied or explicit promise of preferential treatment, etc.
In an interview that the survivor gave TNM in April this year, she spoke about the offers she had been getting from the industry in the past few years. But she had not been ready to return to the Malayalam film industry until now, she said.
“I actually don’t know why I wanted to stay away, I cannot define or pinpoint that feeling. I felt that I was away from Kerala, living a peaceful life in Bengaluru. Going back on the sets, maybe I felt it will start new discussions,” she had said then.
(This article has been edited to suit The Quint's editorial standards.)
(Published in arrangement with The News Minute.)
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