Silence breeds silence "I didn't react at all, because I had come to understand that putting up with that sort of behavior was part of the price I had to pay for, as a young woman, entering a male-dominated industry," said photographer Anastasia Taylor-Lind. In a report by the Columbia Journalism Review, the British photographer recounted the moment one of her male colleagues, Antonin Kratochvil, a co-founder of the VII Photo agency, touched her inappropriately during an agency meeting, she said, in full view of the other members. Taylor-Lind froze, waiting for Kratochvil to remove his hand. "I also didn't say anything because I didn't want to be seen as, you know, the cliched hysterical woman complaining about things. I also didn't say anything because any person that I could have [complained] to was in the room, which made them complicit," she said. Kratochvil denied the allegations, while his agency removed him from its roster. "The photographers of VII are committed to maintaining a safe creative inclusive environment free of harassment and intimidation. In light of new information, VII has initiated an independent investigation into the allegations against Antonin Kratochvil," the agency told CJR. The report, by journalist Kristen Chick, is an important one for an industry that is slowly waking up to its own issues of sexual discrimination and harassment. But, on its own, it's not enough. There are many people in our industry — from photographers to photo editors — who should be speaking out publicly about these issues. Yet, some find themselves unable or unwilling to do so as their own mentors, managers or potential future employers remain silent. And that's a big part of the issue. Silence breeds silence, creating a space for discrimination and harassment to go unabated. - Olivier Laurent |
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