Sexual harassment is rife on comedy circuit and women lack protections, MPs told

Sexual harassment and abuse on the comedy circuit has is persistent and under-reported, with protections available to women often limited or absent, a comedian has told MPs.

Performers and campaigners said many female comedians are left to rely on informal warning systems to try to keep themselves safe but added that these systems can expose women to further risks.

“Female comedians rely on so-called ‘whisper networks’, a shadow safeguarding system where warnings and experiences are shared on private WhatsApp threads,” Nina Gilligan, a comedian and the co-founder of the industry body Get Off Live Comedy, which provides HR support to those working in the industry, told the cross-party women and equalities committee on Wednesday.

Chaired by the Labour MP Sarah Owen, the committee explored the experiences of women in live comedy, the representation of women across the sector and the barriers they face in building a career.

The committee has been examining how employment protections apply in freelance and gig-economy sectors, where traditional safeguards are harder to enforce.

In an industry still dominated by freelance work, opaque booking practices and significant power imbalances, witnesses to the committee said these whisper networks are often the only reliable way for female comedians to avoid known perpetrators or unsafe venues.

But Gilligan, the comedian Ola Labib and the journalist Rachael Healy told the committee that reliance on such informal systems carries legal and professional risks.

“I know women who have shared information and been slapped with cease and desist notices, and accusations of defamation,” said Gilligan. “There’s also the quieter but equally damaging threat of being sidelined or blacklisted by promoters and bookers in what is a tightly connected circuit.”

Research by Get Off Live Comedy from more than 800 workers found that more than one in five people had experienced or witnessed sexual harassment. More than 70% said they had been told about inappropriate behaviour by colleagues.

While this figure is broadly in line with wider UK workplace estimates, campaigners say the impact is intensified in comedy because of its fragmented structure.

“The difference for female comedians is that the informal nature of the comedy world means they’ve got nowhere to turn when something goes wrong,” said Gilligan.

Healy said she had evidence of serious sexual assault across the industry: “It’s incredibly widespread and endemic – and it’s not just performers who are targeted,” she said.

“It’s across the board, from stage managers, venue managers to producers. There just aren’t the protections you might have in other industries: there are no HR departments, company structures or regular colleagues on the comedy circuit,” she added.