From the 274 page NSF report on sexual harassment/assault in the Antarctic[1]:
>“a very young woman, [who] had never been on the ice before. Somehow, she slipped away from us and went out to the bar . . . and I was like ‘Oh my god, did we forget to tell her she was prey?’” One survey respondent wrote, “I was told [of] certain guys, by name, to stay clear of and there were several guys who harassed me. Hell, my very first day at McMurdo I was told to stay clear of Building [X] unless I wanted to be raped.”
Wow, I had no idea it was this bad. Being stationed at one of these sites is a life-long dream come true for many of these scientists. It must be terrible for the women who learn of this situation when they get out there.
Maybe a bit of a leap for an American mindset but perhaps bringing some professionals into this might help the overall atmosphere a lot. Not just between the men and women. Normal work relations would also benefit from not having pent-up desires.
I'm from Holland and we have a lot less taboos on this stuff. But it's kinda weird to me to expect people to forgo a basic human need like sexuality. And celibacy often leads to terrible things like abuse in the church. Their other needs like food, healthcare and heating are met, really it should be possible to talk about this one. If they'd send a massage therapist or a psychologist it would raise no eyebrows. Is this really that different?
>“a very young woman, [who] had never been on the ice before. Somehow, she slipped away from us and went out to the bar . . . and I was like ‘Oh my god, did we forget to tell her she was prey?’” One survey respondent wrote, “I was told [of] certain guys, by name, to stay clear of and there were several guys who harassed me. Hell, my very first day at McMurdo I was told to stay clear of Building [X] unless I wanted to be raped.”
Wow, I had no idea it was this bad. Being stationed at one of these sites is a life-long dream come true for many of these scientists. It must be terrible for the women who learn of this situation when they get out there.
[1] https://www.nsf.gov/geo/opp/documents/USAP%20SAHPR%20Report....