Sexual harassment in the scientific field

2024/09/27 Galarraga Aiestaran, Ana - Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Berdintasuna
• Etika
• Ikerketa-zentroak

The case of Mari Carmen Fernández Vázquez is not the case now, but these days it has reappeared in the media. In fact, research shows that what happened was even more serious than it initially seemed, and in addition, those responsible remain blind, mute and deaf. And the worst thing is that it's no exception, it's the extreme expression of a structural situation.

Fernandez was employed by the CSIC. The CSIC is the Spanish Higher Scientific Research Council, similar to the French CNRS, and the seventh public research institution in the world. Fernández had a contract with Miguel Strogoff to conduct his research, among other things, through oceanographic boats, and in one of them he was hired as a bartender. On September 10, 2023, during the campaign, he disappeared. The main suspicion of the investigators is that it was thrown into the sea, although it was not ruled out that it was an accident or even that it was pushed to it.

The official investigation has not clarified anything, but some media have given some details: On the day of her boarding, the woman telephoned her husband and brother to tell her that the partner who raped in 2019 was on the same boat.

According to Fernández's attorney, the rape left him "shattered" by what happened. The woman reported the facts and for two years she remained on leave, with psychological treatment, and was taken to the hospital in Basurto. In 2020, the complaint was archived; the persecutors and persecutors signed an agreement recognizing that it was a misunderstanding and committing themselves not to maintain any relationship in the future.

Fernandez asked the CSIC leaders to move on board a ship. However, they did not listen to her and in September 2022 they called her to board, as the partner who raped her was on the same boat. He said he couldn't, and the doctors corroborated him. A year later, however, when he no longer had medication, they called him back.

During that time, Fernandez, the victim, was forced to take a course on sexual harassment. He asked the CSIC for help on several occasions, but they did not answer him. In September 2023, when he went back to work on the boat, he met his partner. The man got off the boat and soon after Fernandez disappeared.

To date, the case remains unclear. The CSIC has renewed its protocol to prevent sexual harassment, but victims report that it has remained on paper. The case of Fernández, though extreme, is no exception. A 2020 survey showed that 78% of women in marine science were harassed, especially in maritime campaigns and at university. And the same thing happens in other things, in silence.

In particular, experts have identified two key factors to explain the reason for this: on the one hand, the connection of science with objectivity and neutrality, which makes it difficult to suspect.

And on the other hand, science is a very hierarchical and very precarious system, especially in feminized areas. For this reason, the persecuted women, in addition to the usual difficulties to file a complaint, are afraid to influence their professional career, as harassment is usually vertical.

In campaigns to attract women to science, it should be a priority to ensure that science is a safe space for all.