Thread by @aoibhinn_ni_s

1.Sexual harassment in academia is a serious and systemic issue that is too often left unchecked. I spoke with @IrishTimes about my experience of sexual harassment by a colleague @ucddublin
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irishtimes.com/life-and-style…

Everyone deserves to study or work in a safe environment & we need to have conversations and cultural change in order to properly address this problem 2/n

We have no concrete statistics on the occurrences of sexual harassment involving staff in third level institutions in Ireland, but internationally studies have found that 58% of women faculty and staff have experienced sexual harassment (NAP, 2018) 3/n

This is also a huge issue for students in Ireland, with between 50-75% of undergrad students having reported experiencing sexual harassment in their first 3 years of study (Burke et al., 2020). This correlates with other similar studies internationally (e.g. 51% in Australia) 4/n

Harassment and sexual harassment contribute to the lack of gender equality of women in academia. In Ireland 24% of high-level Professor posts were held by women, compared to 51% women Lecturers which are entry level academic posts in the university sector (DES, 2017) 5/n

This does not mean that addressing gender inequities at senior positions will address the problem of sexual harassment, but points to the fact that gender harassment is another cause of the gender inequity at these senior levels. 6/n

It is positive to see a section on sexual harassment and violence included in the #Pfg & I'd like to thank Minister @simonHarris for meeting with me and putting this issue to the fore as part of his Ministerial remit 7/n

This issue doesn’t just affect victims, but also impacts on the education and research credibility of an institution. 8/n

It’s important to also acknowledge the important work that @nwci @drcc @marymitchell have done to address and tackle this issue in recent years. 9/n

While 3rd level institutions are now working to review and revise their policies & procedures, these should be trauma-informed and person-centred with the wellbeing and safety of the individuals involved of paramount consideration. 10/n

There should be separate policies for sexual harassment as opposed to other types of harassment. The @IUA and @HEA have published recommendations on this which should be followed and enacted. 11/n

The degree to which an organisation's climate is seen by those within it as permissive of sexual harassment has the strongest relationship with how much sexual harassment occurs in that organisation. There is often a perceived tolerance for sexual harassment in academia. 12/n

I am so thankful for my husband, friends, family & colleagues who supported me throughout this whole process. I am very lucky to have such a strong support network & I would not have followed through on the complaint to the Gardai or formal university complaint without them 13/n

I don't want anyone else, student or staff, to go through the same experiences I did. I hope that speaking publicly will begin a conversation that helps address this problem in third level institutes across Ireland & helps support other victims to report their experiences. 14/n

If you have been a victim of sexual harassment or assault, you can contact @drcc or their National 24-hour Helpline, 1800 77 8888 which offers free & confidential information & support. 15/n

I'll post links to further reading and resources that I found helpful. I'll be taking a little break from twitter then. 16/n

National Academies Press Sexual Harassment of Women - Climate, Culture, and Consequences in Academic Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine nap.edu/catalog/24994/… 17/n

Australian Human Rights Commission (2017). Change the course: National Report on Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment at Australian Universities. humanrights.gov.au/our-work/sex-d… 18/n

Safe, Respectful, Supportive and Positive
Ending Sexual Violence and Harassment in Irish Higher Education Institutions, DES (2017)
gov.ie/en/publication… 19/n

Higher Education Authority (2018). Accelerating Gender Equality in Irish Higher Education Institutions: Gender Action Plan 2018-2020. HEA: Dublin hea.ie/policy/gender/ 20/n

Irish Universities Association (2019) Guidance for Universities – How to Respond to Alleged Staff or Student or University Related Sexual Misconduct. iua.ie/wp-content/upl… 21/n

Nature News - Report harassment or risk losing funding nature.com/articles/d4158…

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Nature News - US science agency will require universities to report sexual harassment. nature.com/articles/d4158… 23/n

Burke et al. (2020). USI Sexual Experiences Survey 2020: Sexual Violence and Harassment Experiences in A National Survey of Higher Education Institutions. isha.ie/go/news/the-ac… 24/n

It’s important to remember that sexual harassment doesn’t just occur as physical actions 25/n thebroadexperience.com/listen/2016/2/… & thebroadexperience.com/listen/2017/10…