“My work opportunities depend on how much I can take” : inappropriate behaviour and harassment in the cultural domain in Finland

Abstract

Phenomena of inappropriate behaviour and harassment are neither new nor unique to the cultural domain. However, these phenomena have not been largely publicly discussed before the 2017 me too movement, presumably due to the culture of silence prominent within the cultural domain. After the movement that started from the film industry and quickly spread around the world, discussion on ethical working conditions has arisen within all the cultural domain as well. This qualitative driven mixed methods research reviews the current situation of inappropriate behaviour and harassment in Finland and seeks to understand the magnitude and forms of the phenomena. The research questions are: 1) What special characteristics or structures in the arts and culture field enable inappropriate behaviour and harassment or the possibility of them? And 2) What can be done to eliminate inappropriate behaviour and harassment from arts and culture workplaces? The research questions are answered analyzing research data collected using a survey and six themed interviews. Research data was collected in the spring of 2021. Topics that surfaced from the survey were used as a basis for the interview questions. Findings from the survey and the interviews act as the thematical scope of this master’s thesis, as they are the most important themes to come out of this research. The main findings of the thesis are that there are four elements that enable and maintain the improper working culture within the cultural domain. The elements are insufficient funding, poor management, artist myth, and limitlessness of the work. These themes are examined in discussion with literature. The four steps this thesis suggests helping uproot the improper behaviour in the cultural domain according to the research data and literature are 1) Pushing for the cultural domain’s ethical board to be established, 2) Composing ethical guidelines for all the cultural domain, 3) Basing funding on following the said guidelines, and 4. Talking about improper behaviour publicly and bringing cases of misconduct forward.