There is increasing global awareness of issues of health and safety with regards to sexual assault and harassment. Within academia, a growing body of research shows that sexual harassment and assault are significant issues, especially on campus and working in office or laboratory environments such as during internships and meetings, with robust reporting and resolution systems in place to deal with these situations (e.g., provost.yale.edu/title-ix). However, less focus has been placed on sexual assault and harassment during fieldwork. Much of the extensive pre-departure preparation resources are understandably aimed at general health and safety in terms of the medical issues or working in remote and arduous locations.
There is, therefore, an urgent need to: (i) document the prevalence and effects of sexual assault and harassment experienced by field researchers; (ii) examine current policies of field stations for responding to sexual assault and harassment and develop a template of current best-practices; (iii) understand factors that may contribute to the ease of sexual assault and harassment; and (iv) develop resources for researchers before they begin fieldwork.