They’re everywhere. The NSF has released a horrifying report on sexual harassment and assault at US Antarctic program — there are a large number of military personnel, contractors, and researchers who converge on Antarctic bases for long periods of time, with their ability to escape the place limited. It’s a The Thing situation, except instead of a shapeshifting alien, it’s horny drunk dudes groping anything without a beard. And you aren’t allowed to use a flamethrower on them!
Women are a significant proportion of the Antarctic population, with 140 out of 440 respondents to a survey (peak population total at all sites is about 1600). A huge fraction of the women think harassment and assault are serious problems in the Antarctic, which, whoa, speaks to courage of the women who go there to do science.
This is supposedly a professional environment, but working there is going to subject you to all kinds of degrading behavior. I am astounded that women still go there to work, and also surprised that an epidemic like that is allowed to continue. That persistence might be explained by another datum.
Only 23% of leadership (defined by older, higher salaries, and higher-status
positions) agree or strongly agree that sexual assault is a problem and 40% agree
that sexual harassment is a problem.
Leadership is grossly out of touch or in denial. Read the whole, long report to see multiple examples of the seriousness of the problem. Beautiful, isolated research stations seem to be a magnet for assholes.
Should, maybe, NSF provide all women working in these research stations a flamethrower?
Not just the science. A lot of women work in facility support: administration, safety and environmental, aircraft fueling, transport driving where you could disappear down a crevasse if you’re not extremely careful and observant, waste management, housekeeping, communications – you name it.
At the very least, a castration banding tool. Cheaper, requires no fuel.
No need for a flamethrower and it’s attendant risks, when a good stout lock would suffice.
It seems to me that a flamethrower would be a lot more emotionally satisfying than bonking him with a good stout lock.
As there is no way a stout lock can prevent sexual harassment, I think all the women should be given permission to simply lock the sexual predators outside until they aren’t able to assault or harass anybody.
They can name it the Terra Nova rule.
Bonk them in the head, drive them beyond the horizon and dump them. As they almost certainly regard themselves as Alpha males, it should be trivial for them to get out of such situations.
Suggestion; let the assholes take the drug that is forced on pedophiles to block the libido.
.
Having a low libido is sensitive for psychological and social reasons, but if you spend six months on a station cut off from civilisation there is no objective downside.
.
-Myself I am closing in on retirement age, and my hormones are so low that my libido is essentially gone – yet I am perfectly happy. I have many other things to do in life.
(Yes, I am aware some assholes mainly use the harrassment to demonstrate power. They should never have been recruited in the first place, nor should sociopaths be tolerated once they are found out)
So women can go to the ends of the earth and yet can’t escape getting harrassed by douchebags.
________________________________________ ^ still ____
What is really needed is the equivalent list of “shitty men in STEM” in exactly the same way the list “shitty media men” called out… shitty men in the media.
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/shitty-media-men-list-accused-sexual-harassers-is-spreading-panic-1053468/
https://www.science.org/content/article/neuroscientist-fighting-sexual-harassment-science-her-own-job-peril
From the blog link:
Finding: There Is a Lack in Trust in ASC Human Resources
ASC contractors and subcontractors reported they do not trust their human resources (HR) departments when it comes to addressing sexual assault and sexual harassment. Interviewees frequently shared their perceptions that victims were not encouraged to report and were actively discouraged from doing so. Further, a notable number of community members perceive that contractor and subcontractor human resource departments are dismissing, minimizing, shaming, and blaming victims who report sexual harassment and sexual assault. A significant number of community members also believe that contractor and subcontractor human resources departments retaliate against victims and those who support them.
Yeah, so color me shocked, shocked, that entitled, creepy, gropey men in academia get jobs– mostly from other men–and a sub rosa license, also from men–to continue to be entitled, creepy, gropey men in government research careers. Especially in places where their victims can’t easily leave.
It is not an accident that the creepers and sex offenders wound up, in large numbers, it would seem, in Antarctica.
Rapists and creeps plan. They never “accidentally” wind up alone with their victims.
But first they test the waters to see if anyone will say anything or do anything. About them or the acts committed. If there’s no pushback or consequences? They keep right on keeping on.
Link below is to another blog, but the Lisak & Miller data & analysis would seem to be extremely telling.
https://yesmeansyesblog.wordpress.com/2009/11/12/meet-the-predators/
“Lisak & Miller also answered their other question: are rapists responsible for more violence generally? Yes. The surveys covered other violent acts, such as slapping or choking an intimate partner, physically or sexually abusing a child, and sexual assaults other than attempted or completed rapes. In the realm of being partner- and child-beating monsters, the repeat rapists really stood out. These 76 men, just 4% of the sample, were responsible for 28% of the reported violence. The whole sample of almost 1900 men reported just under 4000 violent acts, but this 4% of recidivist rapists results in over 1000 of those violent acts.”
https://tenor.com/view/sigourney-weaver-aliens-aliens-movie-fire-burn-it-with-fire-gif-5951684
Having watched Dark City, it looks like the corpses could be put go good use even if we kill the eejits.
And the Antarctic has very dry air, so the alien parasites will be comfortable