My Take | A performance we should all be ashamed of
Allegations of sexual harassment at the Academy for Performing Arts have, for all intents and purposes, been swept under the carpet
It’s about time. The most controversial chief of the Academy for Performing Arts will finally leave “for family reasons”.
During Ceri Sherlock’s five-year tenure, the school’s reputation has been hurt by allegations of sexual harassment of students and the shameful way in which management had treated Peter Jordan, a whistle-blower among its academic staff.
If Jordan, the former head of acting, had not risked his career and stepped forward, the public would never have known about the allegations, which were kept under lid for years.
Jordan lost his job. But thanks to his efforts, the school has now instituted procedures to address harassment claims. Welcome to the 21st century.
An internal investigation, the contents of which will be forever kept from the public, has cleared Sherlock of wrongdoings. The school and Sherlock both agreed to pay Jordan HK$1 million in an out-of-court settlement without having to admit liability.
In other words, taxpayers helped the school and Sherlock pay to make it all go away. By halting the court case and refusing to publish its internal findings, the school has made sure taxpayers would never know what really happened. All the while, the government’s funding agencies showed little interest in the case or its related issues.