The Society of Authors and The Bookseller have joined forces to call for co-operation throughout the publishing to tackle sexual harassment.
An industry-wide survey conducted by The Bookseller found that more than half of the 381 respondents had experienced harassment: 54% of women and 34% of men. The reported harassment was spread throughout the industry: booksellers, publishers, agents, scouts, authors, events organisers and freelances. The harassment frequently happened to younger workers and had been carried out by senior or higher status colleagues, contacts, authors and clients. A higher-than-average risk of harassment was reported by publicists (66%) and booksellers (61%).
David Donachie, chair of the Society of Authors Management Committee said: ‘We offer our complete support for The Bookseller’s work to expose the issue of harassment in publishing through their survey. We join them in calling for industry-wide cooperation to ensure that everyone in the industries of which our members are a part – publishing, broadcasting, media and beyond – is better protected. We are currently discussing how best to contribute to this effort.’