CINTAA to set up woman-centric committee in wake of #MeToo movement

The Cine and Television Artists Association (CINTAA) has announced that it will set up a special advisory committee committee to tackle complaints of sexual harassment from female employees in the film industry.

In a press release, the association has specifically addressed the need to institute a special advisory committee on sexual harassment.

The press release stated, "We are in the process of forming a special advisory committee to address the rampant problem of sexual harassment and total absence of a safe working environment for our female members."

According to recent reports, actress Swara Bhasker will be one of the committee members.

In addition to the advisory committee, CINTAA will empanel a group of lawyers, including advocate Sana Hakim, founder of POSH at Work; Jamshed Mistry, founder of International Legal Alliance (ILA); and Brinelle D'Souza, from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS).

CINTAA has also offered to follow the Vishakha guidelines, instituted by the Supreme Court in 1997, for the safety of female employees at the workplace.

However, the press release also stated that "ironically, the industry is unorganized and does not come under the purview of any legislation, either by central or state governments."

This has been cited before, by actor and CINTAA president Sushant Singh, as a reason for the difficulty in responding to sexual harassment complaints.