After two years of dedicated work and collaboration, FIA is proud to announce the release of its Guide to Intimacy Professionals.
This initiative was inspired by Resolution#9 of the FIA 22nd Congress, which called for a best practices manual on intimacy scenes. Developed under the leadership of the FIA Sexual Harassment and Gender Equality Working Group, the guide serves as a concise, practical document designed to help FIA members advocate for the adoption of intimacy coordination across the arts and entertainment sectors worldwide. It achieves this by:
• Providing an overview of the intimacy coordination practices
• Offering recommendations for the training and qualification of intimacy professionals
• Sharing examples of how unions can promote intimacy coordination globally.
The guide was presented at the FIA Congress in Birmingham and draws on insights from two surveys conducted by FIA:
• A survey of FIA members (2023): Focused on performers’ unions, this survey assessed the prevalence of intimacy professionals internationally and collected union best practices. It received 30 responses.
• A survey of intimacy professionals (2024): Targeted directly at intimacy professionals to gather insights on their daily responsibilities, training, and relationships with unions, with responses from 20 experienced professionals from around the world.
Structure of the Guide
The guide is organised into four parts:
• Introduction: Provides background on the development of intimacy coordination, outlines the guide’s purpose and sources, and defines key terms.
• Chapter 1 – What Does an Intimacy Professional Do?
Explores the role of intimacy professionals, including when they should be hired, who they collaborate with, and their responsibilities at each stage of production: pre-production, casting, rehearsals, production, and post-production.
• Chapter 2 – What Training Should an Intimacy Professional Have?
Outlines essential areas of expertise and recommended training, highlights the need to expand local and specialized programs (e.g., intimacy in dance), and includes a case study on the SAG-AFTRA Accreditation System of Intimacy Professionals Training Programmes and Registry for Qualified Intimacy Professionals.
• Chapter 3 – How Can Performers’ Unions Encourage the Use of Intimacy Professionals
Shares practical strategies that have proven effective in other countries and unions, offering inspiration for others. The chapter explores six strategies: 1. Negotiating intimacy language into collective agreements, 2. Developing intimacy guidelines and protocols, 3. Creating other supporting industry documents, 4. Establishing registry systems to track qualified intimacy professionals, 5. Raising awareness of intimacy coordination practices, and 6. Representing intimacy professionals.
The FIA Guide to Intimacy Professionals is currently available in English, with French and Spanish translations planned for 2026.
All best practices collected during the preparation of this guide are available on the FIA Intimacy Coordination Resource Page, which will be regularly updated.
