Page 3 - The Staunch Test

THE STAUNCH TEST

1. Welcome

Hi,

I’m Bridget Lawless, founder of The Staunch Test and The Staunch Book Prize.

Like many other people, I’ve long been aware that there is a lot of violence
towards women on screen. I’m also wearily familiar with the ‘beautiful dead
women’ trope, which sees a plethora of lovely young female characters

murdered before our eyes or discovered already dead in films and television
dramas. Even so, as a writer, (and despite writing educational materials about
violence) I fell into the trap of producing fictional work in which women were
victims of male violence. I didn’t think about any wider consequences than
whether this worked in the story I was telling at the time.

In late 2017, the film and television industries exploded with shock revelations.
The Time’s UP movement and #MeToo were all over the news, as were the

stories of actresses (and some actors) abused, threatened, groped, raped, and
professionally damaged by men who wanted to sexually exploit them. Some of
those men also openly punished not only those who refused them, but just as
often, those they had violated. Many of these stories and the names of abusers
were open secrets within the industry. Despite the fact that those around the
accused acted shocked and surprised when the stories broke, many had
knowingly acted as enablers, either directly, or by turning a blind eye. While

many women left the industry or struggled on, dealing with the aftermath of
abuse they couldn’t report, their attackers went on to thrive, achieve stardom
or status and be rewarded with money and accolades.