this post was submitted on 17 Mar 2025

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355

Antarctic scientists plead for help after ‘sexual assault and threats’ by colleague (www.telegraph.co.uk)

submitted 1 day ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/world@lemmy.world

77 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Summary

A South African scientist at the remote Sanae IV Antarctic base has been accused of sexual assault and violent threats, prompting urgent pleas for help.

The 10-person team is stranded for months due to extreme winter conditions. Officials were warned of the escalating situation as early as December but failed to act.

South Africa’s environment department has launched an investigation and is offering counseling.

The incident raises concerns over psychological screening for Antarctic missions, echoing past violent incidents in South Africa’s research programs.

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[–] null_dot@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 7 hours ago

this article says physical assault, not sexual.

“An intervention is in place,” he said. “The person who assaulted the team leader is remorseful and has been psychologically re-evaluated willingly.” Asked what triggered the alleged assault, George said: “It was a dispute over a task the team leader wanted the team to do – a weather-dependent task that required a schedule change.”

[–] werefreeatlast@lemmy.world 2 points 8 hours ago

The articles is so interesting! Why not have our greatest heroe leaders enjoy some of this peaceful resort-like friendly environment? Orange man would absolute love it. Swasticman too would love the outdoors! There, the white snow is powerful! One might say it has white....maybe one might not say that, wink, wink! C'mon O man and S man, go check it out! Maybe clean up DEI over there?

[–] Vagabond@lemm.ee 35 points 22 hours ago (2 children)

You would imagine the people that go to Antarctica are prepared to be self reliant. It's 9 vs 1. You could institute a little ice justice (beat him) and lock him in a room.

[–] JacksonLamb@lemmy.world 18 points 19 hours ago

Carry around a hammer?

Realistically they are probably appealing for outside help because the ones who take this seriously don't have the numbers.

[–] GreenKnight23@lemmy.world 16 points 20 hours ago (1 children)

if I was locked in a building with a documented rapist for three months, I would lock him in the walk-in-freezer.

[–] flicker@lemmy.dbzer0.com 11 points 20 hours ago (1 children)

Ya'll are kinder than I am. I say put him outside and let the problem solve itself.

[–] the_butsmuts@lemmy.blahaj.zone 21 points 19 hours ago (2 children)

In Antarctica, outside is the walk-in freezer

[–] SpruceBringsteen@lemmy.world 1 points 8 hours ago

I think their mess hall actually heats their fridge.

[–] Lightsong@lemmy.world 11 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

So it would be walk-out freezer then? 👀

[–] werefreeatlast@lemmy.world 1 points 8 hours ago

I agree to both.

[–] the_riviera_kid@lemmy.world 104 points 1 day ago (6 children)

I would think frontier justice would apply nicely in this situation. Just boot the asshole out in the cold and nature will solve the problem for you.

[–] courageousstep@lemm.ee 58 points 1 day ago (16 children)

Women and some other minorities are raised to not even consider using acts of violence to protect ourselves, like it never crosses our minds as a possibility that we could physically hurt an assailant if we wanted to. We have internalized a sense of weakness that isn’t actually true. This has been detrimental to our safety as well as the safety of other women. Fuck the patriarchy for doing this to us.

[–] JacksonLamb@lemmy.world 8 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

Don't put this on the victims. Women are doing their best to defend themselves.

Unfortunately there's a culture of sexual assault at Antarctica, where the "boys will be boys" crowd overrule the kind of thing @the_riviera_kid@lemmy.world just suggested.

[–] courageousstep@lemm.ee 9 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

I never once blamed the victims. And I never will.

[–] JacksonLamb@lemmy.world 9 points 16 hours ago (5 children)

My point is that the women being sexually assaulted in Antarctica haven't been passively sitting there saying it "never crossed their mind" to protect themselves - one had to walk around for months wielding a hammer to use as a weapon against her assailant.

It's the wider system down there and the rape culture society that is creating this system not some kind of passive internaluzed helplessness. Most women field scientists are tough as nails because they have to be.

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[–] CheeseToastie@lazysoci.al 21 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Plus fear of being believed, self blame and feeling of needing to be polite.

[–] courageousstep@lemm.ee 11 points 1 day ago (2 children)

The need to be polite and feeling of blame are both an extension of the lie that we are weak and can’t physically stand up for ourselves. It doesn’t necessarily matter whether we’re believed if we are ultimately safe from the assault in the first place.

But our culture has made us forget that we are strong and capable, has raised us to never develop the muscles to be able to stop someone, to never tear an assailant’s skin off with our teeth, etc.

I could be wildly out of left field, here, and I am extremely privileged that I’ve never been hurt in this way. I just want to see minorities believe that we are strong…because we are.

[–] CheeseToastie@lazysoci.al 14 points 1 day ago (3 children)

I agree with a lot of what you say. Just bear in mind if they kill/harm someone to prevent themselves being raped, they have to explain this to various authorities. And may feel they won't be believed

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[–] the_riviera_kid@lemmy.world 17 points 1 day ago (3 children)

I am sad for the way you were raised, in my entire extended family there is not one woman who would have put up with it or had any thought other than self-defense at whatever cost.

[–] courageousstep@lemm.ee 10 points 1 day ago (2 children)

I’d love to spread your family’s mindset through the larger white American culture (the one in which I was raised)!

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[–] SirEDCaLot@lemmy.today 9 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Absolutely 100%. I think basic self-defense should be a required course in middle school or high school, especially for women. And I would encourage any woman or any person for that matter to take charge of their personal defense, in whatever way is most comfortable for them. Carry a gun, carry a taser, carry pepper spray, take martial arts classes like Krav, etc.

[–] cool@lemmings.world 2 points 15 hours ago

A gun is pretty much the best solution, especially for a woman.

Tasers, pepper spray, martial arts, etc don't always work and usually serve to just piss off your assailant.

I keep saying this: women and minorities should be the ones owning the most guns, not white males.

[–] HellsBelle@sh.itjust.works 11 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (10 children)

Schools should be teaching boys to respect women and not believe they have a 'right' to women's bodies.

If we hit the source of the problem it can be fixed ... and the source is not women, it's boys/men.

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[–] SARGE@startrek.website 33 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Exactly what I was thinking.

When you're cut off from any help, you ARE your own help. Don't wait for something unthinkable to happen, this person has made it clear they don't respect you or boundaries, and have made threats.

It's 9v1, if you're scared just wait until they're asleep. Kick them out the door, lock it, and they can try walking their happy ass back to civilization. from Antarctica

Don't bother looking for a body.

[–] the_riviera_kid@lemmy.world 7 points 1 day ago

Same, too many people on here have a defeatist mindset and it baffles me.

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[–] AidsKitty@lemmy.world 1 points 14 hours ago (1 children)

First of all these are allegations. An investigation should be conducted to gather all evidence to see if charges should be filed.

[–] null_dot@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 7 hours ago

South Africa’s environment minister, Dion George, whose department manages the country’s Antarctic programme, confirmed that an assault had taken place and that he was “considering options”, without specifying what these were.

... so not merely allegations.

[–] anindefinitearticle@sh.itjust.works 35 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I've seen enough scifi to know that (ant)arctic research stations ought to have a quarantine area so that ill crewmembers can be compassionately kept alive separated from those they might harm while still having access to life support in a hostile environment.

[–] tomatolung@sopuli.xyz 19 points 1 day ago (3 children)

Antarctic builds are costly, difficult, and filled with challenges you don't see in daily life, so while that might seem like a simple idea, it's about half as hard as as putting it on the space station, with a 10th or less the budget.

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[–] tomatolung@sopuli.xyz 29 points 1 day ago

I believe it's a remote station/environment issue based on my working in Antarctic and on Research ships.

NSF finally saw the light after it was forced down their throat, and they still haven't resolved it.

https://apnews.com/article/women-working-antarctica-sexual-harassment-assault-mcmurdo-ba0e550fddf1ab0afd031ff4d25143cb

[–] goldfish_brain@lemmy.world 15 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Perhaps they should remove him and arrest him instead of just offering counseling.

[–] notabot@lemm.ee 16 points 1 day ago (1 children)

They're cut off, noone's getting in or out until the weather improves, which will be months. The team are on their own with the attacker until then and will probably appreciate counselling when they're out.

[–] ReluctantMuskrat@lemmy.world 7 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Surprising that they're still cut-off since it's the Antarctic summer right now.

[–] notabot@lemm.ee 10 points 22 hours ago

From the article:

The 10-person team is trapped at the remote Sanae IV base, which is on a cliff edge about 105 miles inland from the ice shelf, by encroaching ice and weather as the southern hemisphere winter sets. Teams overwintering at the base are typically cut off for 10 months at a time. Sources told South Africa’s Sunday Times that the only way to leave the base now was via emergency medical evacuation to a neighbouring German base about 190 miles away.

As far as I can see it's currently the end of the Antarctic summer, winter is just starting, and will likely last until October. It sounds like something went badly wrong with both the psychological screening of the team members, and the decision for the ice breaker that delivered them to leave before the situation was resolved.

[–] Skua@kbin.earth 7 points 23 hours ago

The article says that it is cut off for ten months per year, so I assume the two months of accessibility are only the absolute peak of summer. That would suggest that they're right at the start of the ten month period just now

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