News Sexual Harassment
Hollywood to use ‘intimacy co-ordinators’ to supervise sex scenes

The union that represents actors and television performers issued a series of standards and guidelines this week for crew members who supervise scenes involving sex and nudity.

The goal is to combat on-set sexual harassment.

The framework announced by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists provides a common set of policies and practices for so-called “intimacy co-ordinators” to help productions and actors navigate sexually sensitive scenes.

Under the guidelines, intimacy co-ordinators should have pre-production meetings with producers, directors and writers to establish the exact degrees of nudity expected and the specifics of simulated sex as established in scripts.

They should have one-on-one meetings with actors to be clear about what they consent to.

Union President Gabrielle Carteris says these protocols and guidelines will help to normalize and encourage the use of intimacy co-ordinators in productions, therefore ensuring the safety and security of SAG-AFTRA members while they work.

The move is the latest of several made by SAG-AFTRA during the #MeToo era in an attempt to fight sexual harassment and other sexual misconduct aimed at actors.

They include the adoption of a code of conduct in 2018, which says among other things that auditions and similar professional meetings should not be held in hotel rooms or homes.