Sexual Harassment, Gender-Based Violence & Institutional Culture

Women and especially women in precarious working conditions are at greater risk of experiencing sexual harassment and gender-based violence during their research career. Moreover, compounding factors, such as mobility, precarious contracts, unequal relationships of power, increase the probability of sexual violence and make PhD candidates and postdocs high-risk categories.

The WG4 seeks to gather existing practices in participating institutions to support victims, punish aggressors, and prevent sexual violence. Curative, corrective, and preventive work to eradicate gender-based violence is often done on the ground, by feminist researchers, administrative staff, unions and student associations that implement measures (CLASCHES 2017). Through meetings and workshops, this WG will share and examine those measures in order to bring about best practices to tackle gender-based violence, especially at an early career stage. Since an important part of sexual violence policies consider preventive actions that aim at raising-awareness on the legal framework surrounding sexual violence but also at challenging gender stereotypes and “rape culture” in academia (Buchwald et al. 1993).

This WG4 will also (2) lead reflections on long-term actions appropriate for a transformative agenda. Therefore, this WG will work on best practices to change the overall sexist research culture, through mapping existing initiatives in participating institutions and with workshops where other stakeholders outside academia will share insights, as well as exchanging with similar projects.

*Note: activities are still subject to changes and more information will be soon uploaded.