Help Musicians launches new helpline to support people experiencing bullying and harassment

completemusicupdate.com:

Help Musicians has launched its new helpline for people suffering bullying and harassment within the UK music industry. The music charity – which already supports the health and well-being of musicians in a number of ways – announced it was planning to launch this new specific helpline back in January.It follows increased debate within the music community in recent years about bullying and harassment within the sector, and especially the challenges faced by people who are basically freelance – which includes most artists and songwriters – and who therefore don’t usually work in companies which, in theory at least, should have formal systems to deal with such problems.Rebecca Ferguson has been particularly vocal on this issue, of course, while organisations like the Musicians’ Union and the Incorporated Society Of Musicians have pursued various initiatives, including the MU’s Safe Space programme, which offers advice and sign-posts support services to those experiencing bullying, harassment or other abuse while working in musicThe new helpline will seek to complement existing schemes in this domain and – crucially – will be available to everyone working in the music industry, not just artists and songwriters.Explaining how the service works, Help Musicians said earlier today: “Callers are able to immediately speak with a specialist bullying and harassment counsellor, who undertakes a risk assessment.

As a first step, the advisor will assess if an informal resolution of the situation is possible, and offer coaching on how to approach the perpetrator or organisation if suitable.

If the assessment finds that a more formal approach is required, the caller will be offered information and guidance on the options available to.