
Intimacy & Access Coordination
You need both. Yes, even if (you believe) there's no intimate content. Yes, even if (you believe) there's no disabled people on set. The gap between these roles is big enough for people to fall through, and every set and production office should be both physically and psychologically safe and accessible for all.
What it IS & What it ISN'T
There's no way to explain it without sounding like the Mad Hatter because there's a lot of doublespeak and contradictions. What Intimacy and Access Coordination looks like in Australia can be different to elsewhere and this is also different to how I practice each of these roles due to my specific qualifications, skills and expertise, so... try to keep up.
Methodology
All of your safety officers have a role in pre production. Whether their responsibility be physical, psychological or cultural safety, bringing us on board only for the shoot dates significantly hinders our efficacy and results in higher overall risk. Issues being flagged in pre production not only reduces risk, but also decreases risk related expenditure in both the schedule and budget. It also ensures the very necessary rapport with cast and crew has been able to develop, facilitating our ability to do our job when cameras start rolling.
Special Circumstances
Intimacy is a subjective experience, and few disabilities are static and visible. This makes understanding the intersection between the two, and any other aspects of our identities, all the more important. Every layer of understanding you develop adds a layer of protection against potential harms on set, and it cannot be stressed enough just how valuable that is.
Case Study: Uncanny Valley
Uncanny Valley had a number of intricacies involved that required targeted management of key risk areas, including addressing previous traumas and having children on set. This video describes the data collection process and how that data was utilised in both pre production and on set.