Erik Van Looy will soon present De Pappenheimers on the Dutch channel RTL4. As a new employee of media house RTL, he was sent on a course last week. Together with nine other presenters, Van Looy said. “Just like every employee of the company, male and female,” explains Marieke Saly of RTL. “I followed him a year and a half ago.” That timing is not coincidental. At the beginning of 2022, a bomb exploded in the Dutch media. An episode of the program Boos exposed a scandal behind the scenes of The Voice of Holland. Four employees were accused of sexual misconduct and abuse of power. The Voice was broadcast on RTL4.
Matthijs van Nieuwkerk in The world keeps turning. — © rr
At the end of 2022, employees of De Wereld Draait Door came out with stories about the culture of fear that prevailed on the set. Presenter Matthijs van Nieuwkerk was at the center of the storm. The question was raised: is Dutch TV culture rotten? In response to that question, the Dutch media houses came up with a media pact that was also signed by RTL. “It is a partnership against sexual misconduct and for a socially safe working environment within the media industry,” Saly explains. The audiovisual sector pledged to work together to ensure the safety of all employees, including guests.
Prevent suffering
The training that Erik Van Looy followed is one of the measures taken in the Dutch media to create a safe working environment. The presenter talked about a “MeToo course”. That description is too restrictive, says Ernst-Jan Schubad, director of Bezemer & Schubad. They provide training for RTL staff. “The session is about the themes of bullying, discrimination, intimidation, sexual harassment and aggression in the workplace,” the Dutchman explains. Transgressive behavior in all its forms.
Gert Verhulst in Gert’s table. — © Play media
“There is a lot of attention for the theme in the Netherlands, which is why employers are now proactively training their employees,” says Schubad. “Isn’t it all a bit exaggerated,” Gert Verhulst wondered during Van Looy’s story. “No,” the presenter replied. “Prevention of undesirable behavior prevents a lot of suffering,” Schubad responds. “Prevention is better than cure. Take the theme seriously, keep an eye on proportionality and think about the issue. And adjust your behavior where necessary.”
50 percent growth
The company has been organizing training courses for thirty years, but has seen its requests really explode since the The Voice debacle. “In 2023 we provided 50 percent more awareness training than in 2022.” Such an interactive session from Bezemer & Schubad is given by an actor and an actress. One of them is a trainer. “They play three to four scenes, each about a different form of inappropriate behavior. After each scene, the trainer discusses with the participants,” Schubad explains.
“You can say that ‘You’re wearing a nice blouse’. But you don’t say ‘You have nice heels’.”
Erik Van Looy
About his MeToo course
The idea that some compliments are unacceptable because they may be received incorrectly was discussed for a long time, according to Van Looy. “You can say that ‘You’re wearing a nice blouse’. But you don’t say ‘You have nice heels’,” he gave as an example. “Such examples are very contextually determined,” the director explains. “Some compliments are acceptable in a certain context, others are more sensitive. There will be discussion and exchange of ideas about this during the training.”
Also in Belgium
The rise of such courses is not a Dutch phenomenon. We also have companies that try to make employers and employees aware of undesirable behavior in the workplace. Crime Control has been providing the training ‘prevention of inappropriate behavior’ since 2018. Today training is booming. “Previously, we only provided training that focused on difficult situations between employee and customer,” explains Anke Van de Woestijne of the Bertem company. “During those sessions we were often made aware of internal problems: bullies, aggression, sexual harassment. The De Pauw case put the theme in the spotlight and gave us the definitive starting signal to work on inappropriate behavior in the workplace.”
Bart De Pauw during his trial in 2021. — © BELGA
A training program was developed together with criminologists, sexologists and based on insights from Sensoa. This is aimed at making employees and managers aware of behavior that increases the risk of miscommunication, resulting in escalation. We teach victims and bystanders how to respond and strengthen prevention advisors and confidential counselors. “The same question often comes up: what are you still allowed to do? The training is not a plea to say that nothing is allowed anymore and that you must be very dry in your position. But we do try to sensitize participants. We show that as a manager, for example, you must be alert with compliments. Especially if they are appearance and not work related. That can lead to misunderstandings.”
“Interest and trepidation”
The demand for such courses is increasing in us, just like in our northern neighbors. “When we did a demo in 2018, we had about twenty registrations. There was interest but also trepidation. By organizing a training program you openly acknowledge the fact that there is a problem with inappropriate behavior in the company. To be clear: this is the case in every company. However, many are still in a denial phase.” Employers are becoming more aware of the problem. “We are organizing a demo of our new program again this year. This time we had more than a hundred registrations in three days.”