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Citation
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Jennings JM, Grieb SM, Rietmeijer C, Gaydos CA, Hawkins R, Thurston RC, Blanchard J, Cameron CE, Lewis DA. Sex. Transm. Dis. 2022; ePub(ePub): ePub. |
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Abstract
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INTRODUCTION: Sexual harassment is pervasive in science. A 2018 report found that the prevalence of sexual harassment in academia in the U.S. is 58%. An activity held at an international scientific congress was designed to advance sexual harassment prevention and elimination and empower binary and non-binary persons at risk for harassment, discrimination, and violence. The objective is to describe the activity and outcomes to provide a promising model for other scientific communities.
METHODS: A description of the plenary and key components as well as the data collection and analysis of selected outcomes are provided.
RESULTS: Among 1,338 congress participants from 61 countries, 526 (39%) attended the #MeToo plenary and the majority engaged in some way during the plenary session. Engagement included standing for the pledge (~85%), participating in the question and answer session (n = 5), seeking counseling (n = 3), and/or providing written post-it comments (n = 96). Respondents to a post-congress survey (N = 388, 24% of all attendees) ranked the plenary as number one among 14 congressional plenaries. In post-analysis, the written post-it comments were sorted into 14 themes within 6 domains including: (1) emotional responses, (2) barriers to speaking out, (3) public health priorities, (4) reframing narratives about the issue, (5) allyship, and (6) moving the issue forward.
CONCLUSIONS: Scientific organizations, agencies, and institutions have an important role to play in setting norms and changing enabling policies towards a zero-tolerance culture of sexual harassment. The activity presented offers a promising model for scientific communities with similar goals. The outcomes suggest that the plenary successfully engaged participants and had a measurable impact on the participants.
Language: en |