This morning I was on the #MeToo in anthropology panel at #ASAOxford presenting on fieldwork safety, sexual misconduct, & the intersection between that & Protected Characteristics.
Firstly, I’m Danielle Bradford, a biological anthropology student at @Cambridge_Uni@CamBioanth. Over the past year I’ve been carrying out research into sexual misconduct in fieldwork contexts...
Justifying this work to others has been a challenge. At times I’ve been told that it is ‘not relevant’ to arc&anth. I argue it’s not just relevant but the most important avenue of research that can currently be carried out to ensure the continuation & progress of our disciplines.
But why did I decide to study this? Well...
Whilst there has been a huge focus on access for women & minority groups in academia, there’s little focus on retention of these groups.
Meyers found that 53% of those who reported negative impacts of misconduct left archaeology.
We have a situation in which 71% of women have been harassed on site, and 26% assaulted.
Outreach means nothing if women and minority groups are entering an unsafe and hostile environment. These initiatives fail if countless individuals are being forced to leave our disciplines
The study I’m presenting today is an internal pilot study, consisting of a survey distributed to the arc & anth department at my uni.
The purpose:
— To identify the risks marginalised groups face in fieldwork
— inform policy in the form of risk assessments and training.
We decided to split the survey into two parts... details about the respondents, including whether they possessed a Protected Characteristic under the 2010 equality act (e.g. disability, gender, sexual orientation), and then their fieldwork experiences.
We decided to focus on protected characteristics in light of the @1752Group report that found ‘a clear correlation between being a woman and/or gay, queer, or bisexual and experiencing misconduct’.
Is this the same for fieldwork? How can we protect these groups?
Our results showed that 23% of respondents experienced sexualised incidences, & 11% assault in the field.
Sexualised incidences inc sexualised comments, others asking/hinting/suggest sex to the respondent, sharing intimate details that made the respondent uncomfortable, etc.
We asked respondents to rate to what extent they felt safe & able to carry out their work on site.
Disabled individuals reported feeling significantly less safe than abled respondents.
When looking at sexualised incidences and experiences of assault by protected characteristics we found no significant results.
However, there are differences in data — 40% of disabled individuals experienced assault, vs 16% of abled respondents. 17% of women vs 0% of men.
So — what does this mean?
Ultimately, our sample size is too small to draw any concrete conclusions. There are some differences between groups with protected characteristics and those without.
We need a wider survey, & more academic space being given to this research.
One of the issues we faced was backlash to our study. One respondent commented describing this is ‘normal everyday archaeological life’.
Saying such a thing in response to a survey on sexual misconduct is very telling. It reminded me why I’m doing this research, & why we fight.
We must push back against the idea that misconduct is a ‘normal’ part of academia, & that wanting to work in a safe environment is somehow a weakness. We all need to be turning around and saying, “this is not the kind of discipline I want”.
As cases start to rise in student populations remember:
They were promised “COVID secure” & safe campuses.
They were promised an “authentic” university experience.
They were promised F2F teaching & socialising.
So they move across the country, between countries, pay thousands of pounds with expectations that can’t be safely meet.
And as soon as they arrive they find out they have a couple hours of contact with staff per week and F2F social events are often being cancelled.
They start to miss their 1hr of F2F bc they have to isolate.
They find out they might not be able to go home at Christmas and instead have to spend it in cramped halls with people they met a couple months ago, and for some this will the first time they’ve lived away from home.
This week our amazing staff are on campus helping students settle in & feel welcome in these uncertain times. Throughout the year we signpost students to support when needed, & represent their academic interests & wellbeing to the University. #LoveSUs@hertssu@UniofHerts@nusuk
Student loneliness is a national issue - 4/10 students feel lonely on a daily or weekly basis. Disabled and LGBT students are more likely to feel lonely. SUs help provide community and a sense of belonging. #LoveSUs@hertssu@UniofHerts@nusuk
Students that report a feeling of belonging at uni are more likely to report feeling confident in completing their degree.
Students that are satisfied w/ their SU are more confident about their degree. They are also more likely to be confident about their career. #LoveSUs
I'm so glad that students have received the U-Turn they deserve, after such a stressful and upsetting time for many. I am, however, concerned at how Universities will manage this in practice. #ALevelsResults
For example, if a Uni genuinely cannot give places to everyone who now will have the required grades (because of accommodation, number of teaching staff, need to social distance etc) will this be a breach of contract? Grounds for denied students to take legal action?
Or do Unis have clauses to protect them from this? Can they force deferrals?
Will Unis go over "capacity" w/out increasing staff numbers or pay, and further worsen the current workload crisis and number of insecure staff?
Will there be enough support services for students?
I’ve been going back and forth in my head for months about whether to address this publicly or not, and if so when. But after receiving so much unexpected kindness & support over the last few weeks I want to do so now.
Around March this year I had to make the decision to withdraw my legal case against my former university for discrimination, a case which I took after reporting sexual misconduct from my former supervisor during my time at university.
The case went on for nearly 2 years. But come the new year I was unemployed, with no income & no financial cushion, but not entitled to legal aid. I couldn’t financially continue the case, & was left in debt as a result.
I’ve been trying to make the perfect toad in the hole for months now. Today I decided that tonight was the night. I even measured out each ingredient into individual cups so they were perfect.
And then accidentally poured my wine glass into the batter rather than milk.
Still going to cook it though, obviously. Who would waste a perfectly good glass of wine?
Stay tuned for updates.
On first inspection (before tasting, with the offending glass of wine for reference): arguably a bit on the burnt side, but the fork I stuck in it came out clean so at least it’s not a pool of wine inside...