On April 26th 2023, the Monterey Bay chapter of SWMS hosted a Preventing Sexual Harassment in Field Settings workshop with the non-profit, FieldFutures. FieldFutures aims to make fieldwork safe for everyone. The workshop focused on harassment prevention by discussing topics including how to identify, address and play a role in halting sexual harassment. Participants benefited from learning prevention strategies from the workshop facilitator, Alison Payne, while also partaking in group discussions to examine their roles in thwarting harassment. Attendees left feeling more confident in their ability to identify, intervene, and report issues of harassment. Addressing how sexual harassment and assault threatens the involvement of many vulnerable communities is necessary in ensuring that, as a community, we are promoting equitable and safe field settings for all.
FieldFutures was founded in 2018 by Drs. Melissa Cronin and Erika Zavaleta. Using evidence-based techniques, they provide field-specific training for research teams of all sizes from individuals to entire agencies. Unfortunately, FieldFutures’ work comes from a need to reduce harassment in field work. Over half of researchers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields report being harassed and 20% have reported some form of assault while conducting field work (Clancy et al 2014). This idea recently came to the forefront of many institutions and departments with the release of the documentary Picture a Scientist premiered at the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival. This critically acclaimed documentary illuminated the issue of prevalent harassment in field work situations and in geosciences specifically. The film follows the story of Dr. Jane Willenburg, a geology professor at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Dr. Willenburg was harassed by a supervisor in the field in Antarctica, and only reported her harasser after being awarded tenure. Her harasser was eventually removed from their institution.
Dr. Willenburg’s story is, unfortunately, all too common in STEM fields, especially in marine science. Marine scientists and oceanographers often report harassment in locations such as remote field sites or oceanographic cruises. According to a 2021 report by Women in Ocean Science, over 75% of survey participants were sexually harassed, with most reporting harassment in the field (Ackerman et al., 2023). Field work is often an instructional and formative experience, especially for early career scientists. Therefore, harassment and assault in the field is one of the major barriers to build inclusive marine science, geoscience, and broader STEM communities. As marine scientists, we should actively educate ourselves and our colleagues through programming such as those offered by FieldFutures or content such as Picture a Scientist to the pervasiveness of harassment in field work settings. Only by educating ourselves and our coworkers on the issues and holding those responsible accountable for their actions, will we be able to build more inclusive field work experiences for all.
To learn more about FieldFutures, or to request a workshop, go to FieldFutures.Org
Sources:
https://www.fieldfutures.org/mission
Clancy KBH, Nelson RG, Rutherford JN, Hinde K (2014) Survey of Academic Field Experiences (SAFE): Trainees Report Harassment and Assault. PLoS ONE 9(7): e102172. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0102172
https://www.pictureascientist.com/
Ackerman, A., K. Yarincik, S. Murphy, I. Cetinić, A. Fundis, A. Miller, E. Shroyer, A. Busse, Q. Covington, A. DeSilva, A. Haupt, L. Johnson, C. Lee, L. Lorenzoni, B. Murphy, J. Ramarui, B. Rosenheim, and D. Steinberg. 2023. Know before you go: A community-derived approach to planning for and preventing sexual harassment at oceanographic field sites. Oceanography 36(1):38–43, https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2023.112.
Written by Katie Gallagher (SWMS Communications Lead) and Alex Stella (Monterey Bay SWMS)