It's time to confront sexual abuse in professional orchestras

The petition to the League of American Orchestras and all professional symphonies reads:

Far too many women musicians' careers are controlled, cut short, and even destroyed by men in the classical-music industry who wield power over them and abuse them sexually. Please adopt the Fair Process Principles, developed by survivors to root out sexual violence and abuse in highly competitive workplaces.

As we enter the holiday season, many of us will attend symphony concerts without a care in the world, aside from securing a place in line at the concession stand or bathroom. But for women performers, who are a minority in a music industry that is steeped with historical sexism, these concerts and the rehearsals leading up to them can be hotbeds of sexual harassment and abuse.

This week, The Washington Post dropped a bombshell of an article. One courageous and powerful survivor and oboist, Katherine Needleman, brought many sexual abuses in the industry to light. She even successfully pressured music institutions to hold perpetrators accountable. 

This article is sending shockwaves through the classical-music community, opening up a small window for change. We intend to blow that window wide open.

In 2021, the #MeToo survivor-justice movement unveiled the Fair Process Principles in response to significant gaps in our legal system for survivors. Our coalition developed these workplace investigatory guidelines over three years, with direct input from employment attorneys, service providers, survivor advocates, policy experts, political-candidate organizations, and socially minded investors, who wanted to help root out sexual violence in our politics.

While we originally intended for the Principles to be used in political workplaces and spaces, the guidelines can and should apply to any workplace. The Principles state that in the event of a sexual-misconduct allegation, the employer is advised to follow the following guidelines when carrying out an investigation:

• The investigation should be trauma-informed, in that it is conducted with care for the needs of any individual(s) who has experienced harm.
• It is conducted by an independent, unbiased, trained investigator or entity.
• It is a fair process that assesses credibility by using the "preponderance of the evidence" standard that is used in civil cases (known as "more likely than not").
• It allows for the collection of a variety of evidence. 
• It recognizes only relevant denials and defenses in its pursuit of truth. In other words, an individual's report should not be discounted or attacked because of delayed reporting, the reporting party's mental health, or sexual history. 
• It does not cause further harm to survivors, including retaliatory behavior by accused parties themselves or through proxies.
• It requires accountability and consequences when harm is found.

Sign the petition to tell the League of American Orchestras and all professional symphonies to adopt these commonsense guidelines!