ISTOCK, MARQUESPHOTOGRAPHYThe disgrace of movie mogul Harvey Weinstein after reports of allegations that he sexually harassed and assaulted women throughout his career has prompted social-media choruses of #metoo by women who have experienced similar mistreatment. And the “me toos” extend to academic fieldwork.
A study published last week (October 11) in American Anthropologist, based on interviews with 26 researchers in the physical, social, and life sciences who had done fieldwork, sought to determine the factors associated with harassment at fieldwork sites. Ambiguity about the rules of appropriate behavior and what the study authors describe as “denial of access or entrée to professional opportunities” were the major themes of the interviews, as Inside Higher Ed reports.
The present study follows up on a 2014 PLOS ONE report that surveyed social, physical, and life scientists who had done fieldwork and revealed widespread sexual harassment in the field.
The study analyzed interviews conducted as part of the 2014 survey. The 26 interviewees were selected non-randomly from among the survey respondents willing ...
