#AfterMeToo event calls for new policies against sexual misconduct

"Because of what happened a few weeks ago, because of our own stories getting heard, we finally had your attention. We finally had the attention of our own industry," filmmaker AislingChin-Yeetold the crowd.

List of recommendations

She and her fellow lead organizers actor Mia Kirshner and actor-producer Freya Ravensbergen then unveiled a brief rundown of the recommendations, aimed the industry and government, that emerged fromTuesday's closed-door talks.The recommendations include:

• A unified, industry-wide response to sexualized violence.
• Expanding the definition of "workplace."
• Mandatory yearly education for all industry members on harassment intervention policies, bystander intervention and how to report harassment.
• The creation of a fund, into which all industry members would pay, to support survivors and victims of harassment (in order to fund trauma health care, legal assistance and more).
• Increased government support of universal, timely access to mental health services for survivors.
• The establishment of online reporting systems that minimalizethe retraumatization of victims.
• The establishment of an independent national body to receive and investigate reports of sexualizedviolence, with the power to enact punitive measures.

Tuesday's talks werefilmed and will be released in early 2018 at aftermetoo.comalong with a more formal and detailed report.

Amid the talks, several recurring themes emerged, including the repeated call for a safe reporting system for those coming forward with complaints (and a way to track any reprisals)and an independent body for investigatingclaims.

The need for widespread education for everyone fromthe general public to police, prosecutors and judges was alsounderlined.

We need unified industry-wide response to sexualized violence: harmonize policies of existing unions, protocols to trigger complementary mechanisms of reporting, case-tracking, investigation and blacklisting prevention. This may include amending Canadian labour laws. #AfterMeToo

—@aftermetoo

'Build-up of rage'

"There's a certain build-up of rage at seeing powerful people get away with this and not be held accountable. It's really exciting to see the public talk about this," Dr. Jennifer Freyd, a psychologist and University of Oregon professor, told CBCNews. She addedshe's used to people "turning away" when she publishes a study about sexual violence.

"Now there's this opportunity to share that info. And it can really make a difference, for instance, in simple things like how to respond to someone when they disclose they've been sexually harassed or sexually assaulted. Just knowing how to respond in a way that will help them and not hurt them that can be taught. That's education that can happen very quickly," even beginning with primary school children, she said.

Making sure law enforcement and the judiciaryare educated and up-to-date is also key, according toHadiyaRoderique, anorganizational behaviour researcher at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Businessand an attorney with a background in labour, employment and human rights law.

"We have some of the strongest sexual assault laws in the world," she pointed out. "The problem is enforcement. The problem is the police actually following due diligence in doing what they're supposed to do. It's judges knowing how to apply the lawcorrectly."

Stop throwing [your] supportbehind people who are harassers. HadiyaRoderique, lawyer

While there is a groundswell of people calling for a cultural shift right now, "we have a deeply ingrained, misogynistic, racist culture that we need to confront and not be afraid to say that this exists," Roderique said.

The highest echelons of leadership must be behind the desire to shift workplace culture or else it's just not going to work, she added.

"One thing I would like to see organizations do, in particular, is stop throwing their supportbehind people who are harassers and who are predators because what you're saying is that you don't trust yourself as an organization to be able to find someone who can do the job just as well and who can do it without assaulting someone."

Kirshner, who identified herself as a victim of disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinsteinin ablistering opinion piece this fallin the Globe and Mail, has beenurging everyone to seize the moment and push forward for real change.

"I tried to say something 22 years ago and I wasn't heard," she told the attendees.

"This is not about the entertainment industry, this is about every industry because sexual misconduct exists in every industry and I'm sick of it. It's our job to protect one another because we are all accountable."