Scholars Boycott Meeting, Citing Misconduct Accusations

The European Society for the study of Human Evolution (ESHE) faces criticism after public allegations emerge that its president engaged in sexual harassment and bullying.

Written byShawna Williams
| 5 min read
Liege, Belgium

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ABOVE: The annual ESHE meeting will be held in Liège, Belgium, in September.
WIKIMEDIA, A.SAVIN

On Wednesday (August 28), Tom Higham, an archeology professor at the University of Oxford, took a break from tweeting about Boris Johnson, parliament, and Brexit to make a declaration. He would “not attend the [European Society for the study of Human Evolution] meeting in Liège in September,” Higham tweeted. “Change is urgently needed. I’m not prepared to be a silent & anonymous bystander anymore.”

Higham, who tells The Scientist he’s been a member of ESHE since its founding in 2011, appears to be the first person to use his name when publicly backing out of the meeting in order to press for change. But in doing so, he adds to mounting criticism of ESHE for what some researchers say is a failure to take action in the face of sexual harassment and other allegations against its ...

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  • Shawna was an editor at The Scientist from 2017 through 2022. She holds a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from Colorado College and a graduate certificate in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Previously, she worked as a freelance editor and writer, and in the communications offices of several academic research institutions. As news director, Shawna assigned and edited news, opinion, and in-depth feature articles for the website on all aspects of the life sciences. She is based in central Washington State, and is a member of the Northwest Science Writers Association and the National Association of Science Writers.

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