Tyneside Cinema harassment claims: Women speak out

Almost 200 past and present staff have criticised bosses of the Tyneside Cinema for failing to deal with claims of abuse

Three women who worked at a cinema in Newcastle have told the BBC how they were "harassed" by senior management.

Tyneside Cinema launched a review after claims of harassment and sexual abuse said to have taken place over a number of years surfaced on social media.

Almost 200 former and current employees have signed a letter urging management to take action.

Lucy Armstrong, chair of Tyneside Cinema Trust, said they were "deeply saddened".

The claims span a number of years and involve different men.

One woman told the BBC Inside Out programme that a manager "lunged across the table" and attempted to kiss her.

She said: "He was behaving inappropriately with a colleague... using sexual innuendo and belittling.

"We wanted it stopped and it wasn't... I feel sick about that."

'Not acceptable'

Another said: "I had to take a manager aside and say 'stop slapping me on the [bottom]'. He was shocked, he didn't think it was inappropriate."

A third said: "I often saw people distressed or struggling. The primary tactic to deal with conflict was to bury it or silence people."

Lucy Armstrong, chair of the Tyneside Cinema Trust said: "We are deeply saddened at the Tyneside to hear that staff have got concerns and are clearly hurting as a result of what they feel is bullying and sexual harassment - it's not acceptable.

"There's been a sense of frustration or a lack of confidence in staff to raise issues either with senior management or the trustees and that saddens me and that's why we've commissioned an independent review.

"We have set a target of being able to share the outcomes and start action within six to eight weeks."