Sexual harassment in live comedy has gone unchecked for too long

What if your workplace is a busy bar with a microphone at one end and your co-workers make lewd jokes at your expense? Finally, live comedy has its very own independent HR department, writes Katy Brand

A group of female comedians have formed the Get Off support group (Getty/iStock)

Sexual harassment in the workplace is now generally regarded as a bad thing, rather than a thing that just sort of happens so it’s best to shut up about it because nothing ever changes and you’ll just lose your job anyway, and here have a tissue, clean yourself up and get back to your desk before anyone notices.

I’m glad it’s now regarded as bad, though many HR departments are only now beginning to see they must take it seriously, if only because when it leaks onto Twitter it’s a PR nightmare.

But what if your workplace is a busy bar with a microphone at one end? And what if your industry has no HR department? Indeed what if your industry actively resists it precisely because many of its participants are actively trying to get away from things like “HR departments”? What then?

What if you’re a comedian just trying to do your best tight 20 on living alone during the pandemic, but after you come off stage one of your co-workers makes a lewd joke at your expense, or lunges at your tits, or shoves you up against a wall. What if there is but one toilet in the shared dressing room and it has no door? Who do you complain to? It was hard to know where to turn.

But now this seems set to change, as a group of comedians led byKiri Pritchard-McLean have formed “Get Off” – live comedy’s very own independent HR department. They have a website offering support and a service where you can confidentially report bad behaviour.

This is so important because in the past couple of years we have seen the power of group testimony. There are journalists right now compiling evidence from those with shocking experiences and soon a critical mass of complaints against certain individuals who have bullied people for too long will prove too great to contain.

In the past, there was nowhere to report these issues and so bad behaviour could run untrammelled for years. Now you don’t just have to say “get off” in the moment, you can report it to Get Off and be part of the change.

Get Off’s fundraising live gig takes place at the Manchester Frog and Bucket on 23 November