A collaboration between women who work in science in Parkville, in inner Melbourne and the peak body for Medical Research Institutes aims to help cleanse our labs of sexual harassment.
The Respect in Research Report seems a positive step forward in improving research culture, which is ‘prevalent and widespread’ in the health and medical research sector as much as any other sector, according to the report. Sexual harassment rates run at up to 50% in the sector, compared to a national rate of 33%, according to stats cited in the report from the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons and the Australian Human Rights Commission. An estimated 82% of people who experience sexual harassment don’t report it, according to the Commission’s research.The report identifies eight priorities to inform organisational strategy, policy and training, in a bid to reduce the incidence of sexual harassment in the sector – building trust, improving accountability, identifying and managing risk, promoting inclusive and respectful workplaces, strengthen knowledge, empowering people to speak up, diffusing power and working together to create change.The Report notes that the priorities are interconnected and sets out recommendations on how to tackle the issue.All of which raises a question about the finite capacity of our language to convey nuance. Discussions of lab safety usually relate to eye goggles, vacuum cupboards and a well-ironed lab coat, but if up to half of the women in health research are suffering harassment – a demonstrable lack of workplace safety – then perhaps we need to coin a stronger word than respect to identify solutions in this area?Regardless of verbiage, the report is a good example of positive steps in the right direction through collaboration of groups that might otherwise sit on opposing sides of the fence. Most interventions proposed are fairly easy to implement, suggesting that the sector could enact substantial change quickly if it chooses to.The challenge now is for the groups to report back on the extent of implementation and impact if any on sexual harassment rates in 12 months’ time. AAMRI and Women in Science Parkville Precinct, we will look forward to the follow-up press release on 31 October 2024, to hear how much has changed.
