I never thought about it that way as far as having partners on set but it makes so much sense- unless the partners are the ones performing together. Or in some cases you get the actors who fall for each other while doing the scenes like Kit Harington and Rose Leslie (who I adore).Put it this way imagine you're an actor and you're in a scene where it's something that you wouldn't do in public. Male or female you feel vulnerable because you have a set full of people, you want it to be believable and also you're either doing the scene with someone you like and respect or can't stand. Neither are great scenarios. Another reason directors tend not to like partners on set is that their partner may hold back or worse if either party gets too into it then partner gets upset/jealous etc. There's a few accounts on the Social Media site that begins with T where it's talked about and slip ups on set etc.
I think it’s a huge step to have someone like this on set to help minimize discomfort. Earlier in the thread we talked about how having a female designer make Sophia’s costume allowed for empathy and understanding of what she needed. I like to think that an intimacy coordinator could help reverse potentially very harmful environments that have been seen on movie sets more often than we’d like.
ETA: I wonder, this might be a strange question but do they have a person on set to assist with rape or assault scenes- not to make it intimate obviously but to help the actors through it physically and emotionally? I know some actors really suffered having to portray those things- James Marsters who played Spike on Buffy was allegedly devastated by having to attempt to rape her in one scene and was like shaking and crying in the corner after.