Study: Women Training in Scientific Fields Most Likely To Be Harassed, Assaulted

Many researchers, most of them women, have endured sexual harassment while working in scientific fields, while 20 percent of participants in a recent survey have been assaulted, according to a new PLOS ONE study.

The survey of 142 men and 516 women examined the experiences of scientists working in anthropology, archaeology, geology and other scientific disciplines; 64 percent of those surveyed said they had been the subjects of sexual harassment, The Washington Post reported.

"Our main findings--that women trainees were disproportionately targeted for abuse and felt they had few avenues to report or resolve these problems--suggest that at least some field sites are not safe, nor inclusive," University of Illinois anthropology professor Kate Clancy, who led the study, said in a press release. "We worry this is at least one mechanism driving women from science."

Conducted throughout 2013, the online survey comprised participants from the U.S. and nearly 30 other countries, USA TODAY reported.

Both gender and power played roles in whether or not researchers were more likely to be harassed or assaulted.

"What we found was that the majority ... of people who reported harassment or assault were trainees at the time--in fact, four or five were actually in high school," said Clancy, as quoted by USA TODAY. "A disproportionate amount were women."

The word "trainee" is a blanket term that includes undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral researchers. According to the study, men were more prone to be harassed by peers, while women were likely to receive harassment or be assaulted by those in higher positions.

More women have been coming to the field of science, but they don't often advance to superior positions and sometimes leave the field altogether, causing some to wonder if harassment in the work climate discourages them.

The study authors hope the new research will encourage a safer, more inclusive environment in the scientific field.

"I hope it validates a lot of women who have been talking about this for a long time and not being heard," Clancy said. "We're standing on a lot of shoulders of women who have been talking about this for a long time."