Abstract:

This research aims to reveal the visibility of sexual harassment behaviors and prevention and response strategies in the performing arts in Turkey. In the study, a qualitative research method was adopted in which ‘sexual harassment’ was considered as a phenomenon and the experiences and perceptions of professional performers working in private theater companies were evaluated with an inductive approach. For the research design phenomenology and for the data collection, document analysis and in-depth interview methods were employed. In-depth interviews, conducted by four researchers, were held with a total of 27 actors consisted of 13 women and 14 men whom are working in private theaters with a five-year history. Through the differences and parallelisms of these experiences, how the performers, when exposed to sexual harassment, make this illegal situation evident, what kind of reporting processes they follow through individual or institutional means and which sort of channels they utilize to resolve and end this violation in Turkey are explained. Besides, it shows what kind of prevention behaviors and strategies performers have developed to prevent sexual harassment from occurring. As for response strategies, the processes followed by the performers and their results are also discussed. While the performers based the invisibility of sexual harassment in our country on three reasons: individual, institutional and cultural, it was determined that they used eight different strategies to prevent sexual harassment. Response strategies of sexual harassment are discussed under three headings: defining and reporting sexual harassment experience and post-reporting. Since this research is the first study on this subject in Turkey, it can be considered as a pioneer.

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