India shocked by report on rampant sexual abuse in Kerala’s film industry

A judicial committee found that women – from prominent actors to assistants to technicians – have suffered systematic sexual abuse for years at the hands of a mafia-like enterprise dominated by men in Kerala’s film industry. The panel’s scathing report revealed that up-and-coming artists were “treated worse than slaves on certain sets”.

The findings have triggered a significant legal and political fallout in India since the report was made public on Monday.

“The state government ought to be ashamed of itself,” Shashi Tharoor, a former union minister of state and a current parliamentarian, told reporters on Tuesday. “There is a system and that system has let the women of Kerala down. That system has betrayed the values of the industry that they seem to promote in their art and cinema.”

The disclosures come on the heels of the doctor’s case, which has incited national outrage and brought attention to brutal cases of sexual assault in the country. The rape and murder of the 31-year-old doctor at RG Kar hospital in Kolkata on 9 August has sparked protests by doctors and others in cities across India.

The Kerala investigation found that women experienced at least 17 different forms of exploitation, ranging from sexual demands as a condition for entering the film industry to abuse and assault.

“Throughout our study, we found that the Malayalam film industry is controlled by a small group of producers, directors, and actors – all male,” the 235-page report said.

Women who agreed to provide sexual favours were given degrading “code names” by influential men. To protect the victims’ identities, certain portions of the report have been redacted.

The three-member committee, led by former Kerala High Court judge K Hema, completed the