Sexual harassment is repeatedly reported from almost all walks of life, and according to a study commissioned by the Australian Antarctic Division, research stations in Antarctica are not exempt from it.
The time spent at a research station in Antarctica can last several weeks, months or even more than a year. For the scientists and non-scientific staff, working in this extreme habitat and living together in a confined space with initially strangers places enormous demands on individual physical and psychological resilience.
As a study now shows, this already heavy burden of living and working in the most remote region on Earth for such long periods of time is magnified for many women working in Antarctica by gender inequality and sexual harassment from male supervisors, colleagues and non-scientific staff.
Meredith Nash, associate professor of sociology at the University of Tasmania, led the study commissioned by the Australian Antarctic Division and examined culture at Antarctic research stations. In interviews, 22 women employed by the Australian Antarctic Division reported a widespread and predatory culture of sexual harassment.
Nash’s report describes a toxic environment in which there is uninvited physical contact, unwanted sexual solicitation, and sexist comments, jokes, or innuendo. In addition, there is displaying of pornographic and offensive material on site, as well as insults and taunts based on gender.
“I think in some ways it’s unethical for us to continue to try to encourage women to work in a male-dominated field when we’re not sure that organizations can protect them,” Professor Nash told ABC News.
What makes it worse for the women involved is the fact that they “have to work in the field with their abusers for weeks at a time because they simply can’t leave,” Nash said. In addition, because of power dynamics, women feel inhibited to report the incidents or complain in fear of making their situation worse.
But not only women are victims of harassment. Interviewees also described a homophobic culture in the stations, according to the study’s summary.
In addition, research visits to Antarctica for women are complicated by inadequate or non-existent infrastructure to accommodate their biological rhythms. According to the report, women found it difficult to obtain menstrual products during their periods and to visit appropriate localities when working in the field, as such locations were simply not available. Some of the women even felt compelled to hide their periods during field missions because they feared being judged incompetent by men.
Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek expressed stunned by the report and called for a culture change. “I have been very clear with the department. We need to make sure that every person working either at head office or in the Antarctic feels safe and if they make a complaint, they can make that complaint without any fear of victimisation.”
In a statement, Kim Ellis, director of the Australian Antarctic Division, wrote that all 42 recommendations to improve culture at the stations that Nash listed in her report have been accepted and are being implemented.
Julia Hager, PolarJournal
Link to study summary: https://www.dcceew.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/summary-nash-review.pdf
