Safety in Ocean and Field Sciences: Developing best practices for harassment prevention and response

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This award will fund a workshop (place and dates to be determined) to develop policies and best practices to deal with sexual harrassment associated with field research. While many institutions and organizations are revisiting their policies and practices regarding sexual harassment, there remains a gap in attention to policies and best practices specifically tailored to the remote and isolated nature of the field environment. Institutions lack policy on response to the acute safety issues caused by harassment in remote settings, as well as guidance on jurisdiction for potential responses,This workshop will: (1) open a dialogue between sexual harassment experts and the field research community to develop best practices and recommendations; (2) build coordination and encouraging consistency in policy setting and enforcement across field stations and oceanographic platforms; (3) develop processes to monitor the reporting of sexual harassment instances occurring at remote field locations; and (4) promote a safe culture for scientists conducting research at remote field stations and on oceanographic vessels. Participants will include sexual harassment experts, leadership from academic research institutions, research stations, and ship operators, field researchers, technical/crew managers, and representation from member associations. The recommendations will be broadly distributed at appropriate scientific meetings and associations.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.