WCC flags attempt to ‘jeopardise’ privacy of women who testified before Hema Committee

WCC has alerted Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan of what it termed as an attempt to expose the identity and jeopardise the privacy of women artistes and technicians who deposed in front of the Hema Committee.

Women in Cinema Collective (WCC), an advocacy group that champions women’s rights and equality of sexes in the entertainment industry, has alerted Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan of what it termed as an attempt to expose the identity and jeopardise the privacy of women artistes and technicians who deposed in front of the K. Hema Committee, which documented scores of instances of allegedly pervasive sexual exploitation and abuse in the Malayalam movie industry. 

In a Facebook post on Monday (September 16, 2024), the WCC singled out a Malayalam television news channel for allegedly conducting a trial by media based on cherry-picked information, insinuations and innuendos, which the WCC feared could potentially reveal the identity of the survivors who braved personal and professional odds to testify before the committee.

The WCC said the “irresponsible reporting” has put the women in severe distress and instilled anxiety in them. It accused the news channel of causing more grief to survivors while projecting itself as a protector of their rights.

The WCC pointed out that the unredacted report, including highly confidential annexures and addendums, was now in the possession of the special investigation team (SIT).  

The WCC feared that some people who were privy to the report might be the source of the scandalous media leaks. It requested Mr. Vijayan’s urgent intervention.

The government had constituted the SIT, comprising four women IPS officers, to investigate alleged instances of rape and sexual abuse in the film industry, which emerged in conventional and social media soon after a redacted version of the committee’s damning report in 2019 appeared in the public domain last month.

Subsequently, the Kerala High Court, which considered the Hema Committee report, tasked the SIT with probing the findings.

The court also asked stakeholders, including the State and the media, to desist from any action that could reveal the identity of those who appeared before the committee. 

Last week, some WCC members met Mr. Vijayan in person at the latter’s office in the government Secretariat and requested that the State protect the identity of the women who appeared before the committee.