Sexual Abuse In The Field
Posted by Michelle Moquin on July 31st, 2014
Good morning!
Considering the responses from two days ago, I’m happy I didn’t hold my breath. This one’s for you Lea and Holly. Lucy: Let’s see how the “creeps” comment on this one.
This write shows again how women are being raped by the very men who are supposed to be their colleagues and friends. Just like in the military, the greatest danger to American women are the American men who serve with them in whatever capacity they work with them in. Be it military, scientific, or humanitarian, it is the men who go to work with them, many their superiors, that American women have to be concerned about.
From NPR.
Young Scientists Say They’re Sexually Abused In The Field
Many young scientists dream of their first trip to a remote research site — who wouldn’t want to hang out with chimps like Jane Goodall, or sail to the Galapagos like Charles Darwin, exploring the world and advancing science?
But for many scientists, field research can endanger their health and safety.
In a survey of scientists engaged in field research, the majority — 64 percent — said they had personally experienced sexual harassment while at a field site, and 22 percent reported being the victim of sexual assault.
Most of the people reporting harassment or assault were women, and the vast majority were still students or postdocs.
And for female victims, the perpetrator was more likely to be a superior, not a peer. “This is happening to them when they are trainees, when they are most vulnerable within the academic hierarchy,” says evolutionary biologist Katie Hinde, an author on the study published Wednesday in PLOS ONE. Hinde and her colleagues say this could be a factor in the large number of women who enter scientific fields but don’t continue.
A total of 666 scientists, primarily in the fields of anthropology and archaeology, completed the voluntary Internet survey. And while the results do not reflect the true prevalence of sexual abuse in field research — this type of survey is not designed to measure that — the numbers are still alarming.
While sexual violence can occur in all workplaces — roughly 50 percent of women report experiencing sexual harassment at some point in their careers — Hinde says the particular nature of field sites, where researchers are far from home, and the lines between work life and personal life are blurred, may make them more prone to this type of wrongdoing.
But in the survey, fewer than half of respondents recalled ever having encountered a code of conduct or sexual harassment policy at their field sites.
“People are being told ‘what happens in the field stays in the field,’ ” says biological anthropologist Kathryn Clancy, who led the survey team.
Many academic sciences have a problem retaining women. Though they enter the disciplines in high numbers, many leave before they reach the postdoctorate or professor level. The lack of role models and mentors and professional demands that leave little time for family life have been cited as reasons.
“One of the things that is not discussed out loud very much is how sexual harassment and sexual assault play into this problem,” says Hinde.
Psychologist Rebecca Campbell, who studies the effect of sexual harassment on communities, says that while all workplace harassment is harmful, it can be particularly damaging when coming from a superior.
She also says these findings should be incorporated into the broader discussion about campus sexual harassment and violence.
“The cultural narrative is that this is two drunk college kids in a dorm room, and we are seeing now that sexual assault is occurring as part of the core curriculum,” says Campbell.
While both Hinde and Clancy say that it was difficult to parse so many stories of wrongdoing perpetrated by and against their colleagues, they hope the results spur scientific communities to come together in search of a solution.
“As horrifying as this data is, I’m really excited to have it out there,” says Clancy. “Every person who has had this experience will be validated and know there are others out there who have their back. If this keeps just one more woman in science, it is absolutely worth it.”
Editor’s note:
July 21, 2014 A previous version of this story was illustrated with a file picture of an archaeological site in the United Kingdom. NPR did not intend to suggest that there are links between the content of this story and this archaeological site or the institution that organizes it.
*****
Readers: I don’t know if I would choose the word “excited” when referring to having this data out there, but I certainly do think it is good that the writer is illuminating this subject, because this is the first time I have heard about abuse in this type of field.
Am I surprised? I wish I could say that I was. But unfortunately, life is filled with low-life degenerate men that are so disgusting, they will use any available opportunity to take advantage of females.
And in the same vein, it is certainly a sick way for men to keep the competition down if you can keep the women from even entering into your field for fear of having to endure the abuse.
My suggestion: Make that pick tool you’ve been digging with your best friend and keep it close by. It just might come in handy.
Thoughts? Have any of you girls out there experienced rape or harassment in this field? Blog me.
Peace & Love: “Live it, Give it.”
Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.
Gratefully your blog host,
michelle
Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)
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July 31st, 2014 at 12:29 pm
Michelle, some of my graduates friends can tell some real horror stories. The men they work with, are friends with, even the boyfriends,fiancees, husbands and just about any male relative of their friends has hit on them or tried to rape them.
Men for the most part are truly sick. They think with their penises and they will use any line they can think of to fuck a woman.
July 31st, 2014 at 12:32 pm
Great topic: For the women who handle the food we eat every day, sexual harassment and assault often come with the job. It is the hidden price that many women, especially those not authorized to work in the U.S., are paying to provide for their families.
July 31st, 2014 at 12:34 pm
Hundreds of female agricultural workers have complained to the federal government about being raped and assaulted, verbally and physically harassed on the job, while law enforcement has done almost nothing to prosecute potential crimes.
In virtually all of the cases reviewed, the alleged perpetrators held positions of power over the women. Despite the accusations, these supervisors have remained on the job for years without fear of arrest.
July 31st, 2014 at 12:37 pm
The sad truth is that women are the ones on a jury that fail to help when other women bring charges.
==================
At a federal civil trial this year featuring 14 women telling their stories, a jury found that whatever had happened at Evans Fruit, it did not create a sexually hostile work environment, which had to be established before the company could be held liable.
Government attorneys who prosecuted the civil case have requested a new trial. In court filings, they called the verdict “unmoored from the actual evidence.”
July 31st, 2014 at 12:40 pm
I have worked on several investigations involving men in power positions over women. Many use that power to abuse the women.
—————————
William R. Tamayo, a regional attorney for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, says that he became aware of sexual harassment in the agricultural industry in the mid-1990s when farmworker advocates told him that women reported being raped at work and that they talked about working in the fils de calzón, or the “fields of panties.”
July 31st, 2014 at 1:21 pm
There is just too much violence in this world directed towards women every day.
http://thinkprogress.org/immigration/2014/07/31/3463460/migrant-womans-story/?elq=~~eloqua..type–emailfield..syntax–recipientid~~&elqCampaignId=~~eloqua..type–campaign..campaignid–0..fieldname–id~~
July 31st, 2014 at 1:38 pm
The sad thing is at most of this hate towards women comes from the “god-fearing” right, a group that is, for some reason, afraid of their own God.
Suddenly, everything they do must be to please their God, otherwise he may smite them or some such thing. Any encroachment on God’s beliefs is an encroachment on their own by extension, and as such is a call to act.
None of this actually makes sense to me personally (especially being God-fearing, which has a particular self-hatred aspect to it that’s just mind-boggling).
July 31st, 2014 at 1:43 pm
Nell, you win the prize. These people are TERRIFIED of the changes that are happening in the world. In their hearts, such as they have hearts, they KNOW that they are on the losing side.
Gay Marriage IS coming, it is only a matter of time & when it happens, these Christians are going to be terribly disappointed to discover that it doesn’t really affect their lives at all They won’t die as martyrs to the sanctity of marriage. They will fade away, as most of us do.
The other sad thing is the women don’t believe they are as loved by their god as the men are.
July 31st, 2014 at 1:44 pm
People should be free to BELIEVE whatever they feel is correct, and should be free to personally BEHAVE in accordance with those beliefs.
But “Religious Liberty” does NOT mean a person can tell us what to believe, nor that he can force US to behave in accordance with HIS beliefs. Forcing their religious beliefs on others is not required for them to “fully realize their religious beliefs.”
July 31st, 2014 at 5:40 pm
Michelle and Lucy#1: I have been reading this blog long enough to have heard of the unimaginable horrors women face at the hands of men. Don’t hear of many men complaining of fearing violence or sexual assault from women. I know, I should be one to talk, but a rant on the web is a far cry from the physical violence and sexual harassment women endure at work, home, school, in the field, and anywhere else women interact with men.
In reading today’s post, I can only imagine how discouraged a young lady, excited to be on her first dig or taste of the work she has been training for, is suddenly disrupted when some idiot that she thought she knew sexually harasses her, ruining the whole experience of being new in the field.
A flirt is one thing, and women know how to discourage another one very well. Men know right away when their advances are uninvited and unwanted and should step on the brakes right then and be done with it. No harm, no foul.
I cannot imagine the terror that the physical act of being violently raped would have on a woman’s emotional state. I find it hard to believe that men can be so violent towards the fairer sex, did they not have mothers that nurtured and loved them? Even if they did not, that is no excuse for being violent towards women.
I certainly can’t understand how the courts can let them walk to do it again, and in many cases blame the woman’s choice of clothing, whereabouts, or any one of a dozen different freedoms that make no difference whatsoever. A womans right to deny a man sexual advances are very clear. NO MEANS NO!
July 31st, 2014 at 7:19 pm
Al, you are just wonderful.
July 31st, 2014 at 9:01 pm
I’m an anthropologist who has been on archaeological digs.
What the Fuck.
Seriously? In anthropology. Where many of the classes revolve around gender issues, imbalances,
sexism, and studying how women and men and intersexed are treated around the world.
I also want to expand this just a touch, and point out that “social sciences” are often considered much less “science-y” than the “real” sciences out there with a good part of that concept wrapped around the view that “women do anthropology, psychology, social sciences. You know, the ‘easy’ ones. Men do the real sciences.”
Fucking pisses me off.
July 31st, 2014 at 9:05 pm
I’m an environmental scientist turned photographer. I didn’t experience sexual harassment but did encounter extreme gender bias. Despite having more intern experience and graduating as one of the top of my class in a program that was very difficult to get into, the male who started at the same time as me and had less experience got the better assignments and joined the ‘boys club’ rather quickly.
He was nice at first, however even he eventually turned on me. Occasionally there was a snide comment like ‘science is a mans job’, ‘women are naturally bad at math’ or ‘you shouldn’t be doing that you’re a woman’ in reference to wading through muck and swamp sludge collecting samples.
Ironically that guy could barely swim, whereas I was on a swim team in high school and received a partial scholarship to swim in college.
I believe the ratio in my dept was about 3-4 females (in the science / engineering field) vs 25-30 men. There were other females in the office but most were HR, Secretaries etc…
It wasn’t an easy task. I worked long hours, was given less support staff to help with assignments, I believe all in hopes that I’d fail.
I never did, and when the recession came in 2009 numbers couldn’t lie and the higher ups ousted him first thankfully. I did eventually get furloughed and then laid off along with more than half my coworkers due to the government recession bs and went into another field. I’d like to go back, but working in conditions where you generally feel unwelcome isn’t something I yearn to go back to.
July 31st, 2014 at 9:07 pm
My degree is in Geology, and I only have a Bachelor’s, so I haven’t engaged in the sort of extensive fieldwork that a field-oriented geologist would while getting a PhD. I personally have never had a problem in the field, and would totally encourage other women to go for it.
That said, one of my professors once commented on how he didn’t like a particular graduate program, as the profs there had a disturbing habit of marrying their grad students. (PM me if you want the specific program; I’m trying to protect my prof and allow him to keep getting this info and warning other students, rather than cover for the program. Also, my info is 10+ years out of date.)
July 31st, 2014 at 9:13 pm
What kind of study is this? No control group? How do the numbers line up against men? Without a control group, the majority of these numbers mean nothing!
Who allowed this study to start? Who funded it? Whoever it was should get fired. This is just embarrassing.
yes, women are sexually harassed. How many men are sexually harassed? Surely at least some of them are, and we can’t really call it discrimination if we don’t know if women are sexually harassed more than men. For all these numbers, we don’t know what the male averages are, so we don’t even know if this is abnormal. I’m sure plenty of young male scientists feel excluded from the seniority group too. How do those numbers compare?
Without that information, we have no context with which to view this info, which makes it unusable. Just like an unlabeled graph, we have no idea what it is actually saying.
August 1st, 2014 at 12:29 am
I agree with Linda#11, Al. You have a real grasp for what we as women are faced with.
August 1st, 2014 at 12:33 am
When I read this article I think how silly some women can be. Therefore it depends on what constitutes “sexual assault”. Some women even consider being hit on by guys they find unattractive as sexual assault, which might explain the high percentage.
August 1st, 2014 at 12:35 am
Any thoughts on how this can be combated to any degree? In one of the organizations I’ve been involved with we’ve had multiple instances of either asking or forcing people to leave the organization due to sexually harassing females in the organization and making it an uncomfortable environment for everybody.
However, that is more a treatment of the symptoms than addressing whatever underlying issues are causing that treatment to come out in the first place. This is all in college so I feel like it has to, in part, come from environmental issues and lack of education in K-12.
August 1st, 2014 at 12:37 am
Those numbers are high… very disappointing to see. But I think this is certainly a societal problem in general.
August 1st, 2014 at 1:02 am
Michelle, I love the spotlight you keep on women’s issues, especially the abuse they suffer at the hands of men. Please keep up the hard work of reminding women we need to take a hand in our own saving. Frankly, I don’t believe anything will change until the demographics change. White women will not vote against their white men.
Grimes running against McConnell in Kentucky is a typical example. She had a 3 point lead because of her lead given to her by women voters, but a recent pole says that has changed.
————————————-
A McConnell source admits that late last year there was a significant gender gap, but tells CNN that internal McConnell polling shows that closing – with McConnell now doing as well as Grimes now with women voters.
Three months before Election Day, polls show the race neck and neck.
————————————-
It is “neck and neck” because white women who out number white men at the polls in Kentucky are supporting McConnell. If a man knows that he can dis women on issues as important as “the violence against women act”, and equal pay for equal work, and still get women to support him why would he ever change. What is Alison Grimes doing to remind Kentucky women that McConnell has voted against them?
===============================
Her latest in a series in which Alison Grimes uses real voters to pose questions for McConnell. In this ad, Kentucky resident Illene Woods asks why he voted “two times against the Violence Against Women Act. … and against enforcing equal pay for women?”
After a long pause, Grimes, sitting with Woods in a yard outside a white home, says, “I can never get him to answer this one, either.” Grimes then says McConnell must be forgetting that over half of Kentucky voters are women.
===================================
Since the allegation is true, one would think that white women would vote in their own best interest, but those vapid females are supporting their men’s anti Obama position. So they vote republican even when it is obvious that party couldn’t care less about women or their issues.
August 1st, 2014 at 7:02 am
When you think you’ve seen the worst men do to women.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/31/david-pitts-captured-rape-mother-daughter_n_5639080.html?cps=gravity
August 1st, 2014 at 7:10 am
Oh and Michelle, I intended to add this http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/29/oliver-lown-veterinarian-sex-dog-horse_n_5630854.html
to show that to men any defenseless “hole” will do. This guy became a veterinarian in order to rape defenseless animal. Sorta like those that become priest to rape children, or OBGYNs to sexually assault women.
When you think you’ve seen the worst, just look around.
August 1st, 2014 at 8:02 am
Alycedale, those idiots believe they’re against Obama and just voting against that bc they’re busy listening to mostly man propaganda about how Obama is ruining the country etc…that’s dumb…too bad they won’t look at the bigger picture and do some of their own research. – ZL
August 1st, 2014 at 8:10 am
Zen Lill, if only.