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#ThatsHarassment Campaign Launches In Chicago

Chicago (CBS) - The city of Chicago is taking new steps to raise awareness about sexual harassment in the workplace. Mayor Rahm Emanuel and actor David Schwimmer are launching a series of public service announcement videos called "#ThatsHarassment."

The campaign encourages victims and bystanders of harassment in the workplace to speak out and provide tools for employers to create a safe work environment. The public service announcements will appear on City billboards along the highways and information panels throughout the city, and in Creative Mobile Technologies and Curb Technologies taxicabs.

"By confronting sexual harassment, discrimination and misogyny directly, we can help more people understand their rights and responsibilities when it comes to this incredibly important issue," said Mayor Emanuel. "The #ThatsHarassment series is part of a coordinated, concerted campaign to educate and empower everyone to recognize and respond to unacceptable behavior in the workplace. Together, we can create safe, empowering professional environments for all."

"No longer does the shame of sexual harassment and assault belong with the victims and the survivors," said actor, producer and director David Schwimmer. "These PSAs showcase the pervasiveness of abuse in the workplace, and make very clear that perpetrators who use positions of power to demean, deride, discredit, harass and assault anyone will be held accountable."

David Schwimmer and his team created the project to highlight behaviors that are unacceptable and to end institutional silence and complicity. The films take place in various professional settings and depict scenarios of sexual harassment where men in positions of power cross the line. Based on real events, the videos include: "The Boss" starring Zazie Beetz and David Schwimmer, "The Coworker" starring Grace Gummer and Joseph Sikora, and "The Doctor" starring Cynthia Nixon and Michael Kelly. The PSAs can be found at: www.CityofChicago.org/ThatsHarassment.

Every day hundreds of Americans are affected by sexual violence and abuse. The U.S. Equal

Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) estimates that one in four women face harassment in the workplace, and many are hesitant to report it. Sexual harassment is pervasive across industries, especially in low-wage service jobs. More than 25 percent of sexual harassment charges filed with the EEOC in the last decade came from industries with service-sector workers.

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