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Time’s Up Arrives at the BAFTAs as Emma Watson Supports New UK Justice and Equality Fund

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Awards season is upon us, and with it, the rapidly spreading Time’s Up movement reaches the BAFTAs tonight, February 18. Emma Watson was one of many actors who supported the campaign at last month’s Golden Globes, and stars will be out in force again tonight in support at the BAFTAs. Attendees are anticipated to wear black in an act of unity.

Ahead of the ceremony, stars, including Emma, as well as Noma Dumezweni (Cursed Child), Emma Thompson (Sybill Trelawney), and Gemma Chan (Fantastic Beasts) (and many more), have signed an open letter, published earlier today in the Guardian, speaking out against sexual harassment, abuse, and discrimination in the entertainment industry. Here’s an excerpt:

So what is our industry’s role in promoting a vision of an equal society? We believe it is huge. We believe we need to use our power as communicators and connectors to shift the way society sees and treats us. We need to examine the kind of womanhood our industry promotes and sells to the world.

There is no question that Time’s Up should be and will be a global movement. A movement that is defined and led by those affected by the problem, not by those in power.

As we approach the [BAFTA]s – our industry’s time for celebration and acknowledgment [–] we hope we can celebrate this tremendous moment of solidarity and unity across borders by coming together and making this movement international. Perhaps Time’s Up seems a million miles away to you – started by a group of women with privilege. The truth is, we are all workers, and whether we’re in the limelight or in the shadows, our voices matter. With our collective power, we can galvanize others.

Read the letter in full here.

Campaigners have also gotten together to launch and support the new UK Justice and Equality Fund, to which Emma gave a £1 million donation.

It’s easy to dismiss harassment and abuse as being caused by ‘one or two really, really bad men’, but the UK statistics point to a much bigger and more structural problem. This issue is systemic, as opposed to individual, one-off events.

More than half of all women, and nearly two-thirds of women aged 18 to 24, say they have experienced sexual harassment at work. One in five women in England and Wales have experienced some type of sexual assault after the age of 16. This should not be tolerated and cannot and should not be our norm. We can do better than this.

Ahead of the BAFTAs, Emma also spoke out about the BFI’s newly released sexual harassment guidelines. See what she had to say in the video below.

 

 

The new guidelines will help prevent sexual harassment and bullying within the entertainment industry. Several organizations collaborated on the new guidelines, consulting actors such as Emma in the process. It is suggested that only projects that sign up for the guidelines will be given BFI funding or will be eligible for BAFTA nominations. Plans include a helpline and providing two people on set to deal with issues.

These principles and guidance are the result of a monumental cross-industry effort in the face of some difficult truths. [BAFTA] is committed to promoting excellence and creative collaboration in film, games and television, and we believe that everyone has the right to work in a safe professional environment.

It is essential that there is a shared understanding of respectful, inclusive working practices that enable everyone to succeed.

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UPDATE 

19/2/18 

Emma posted a video on her official social media networks last night explaining more about why she wants Time’s Up to be global and why she wasn’t at the BAFTAs.

 

 

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Donate to the Justice and Equality Fund here.

Time’s Up.