Sexual Harassment and Assault During Field Research

Session Submission Type: Virtual Roundtable

Session Description

Pressured by the #MeToo movement, American political scientists have recently undertaken efforts to address sexual harassment in workplaces such as professional meetings and university departments. Little has been said, however, of sexual harassment and assault experienced by political scientists during field research. This is a particularly glaring omission given that many political scientists spend extended periods of time in the field, field research is essential to data collection and career development in many subfields, and there is strong anecdotal evidence that young female scholars and graduate students are at acute risk of sexual harassment and violence in the field. This roundtable brings together a team of researchers from Auburn University and the University of Illinois who have been collecting data on sexual harassment and assault experienced by political scientists during field research with field research methodologists and administrators versed in workplace sexual harassment policies from the MeToo Collective, APSA’s Ethics Committee, and university administration. With an eye toward protecting and advancing pluralism among field researchers and the discipline at large, this roundtable aims to start a broader conversation about sexual harassment and assault during fieldwork by delineating the magnitude of the problem, investigating its causes, and envisioning practices and policies to address it in the future.

Sub Unit

• Theme Panel

Cosponsor

• Division 8: Political Methodology

Chair

• Stacey Leigh Hunt Auburn University

Presenters

• Rebecca D. Gill University of Nevada, Las Vegas

• Virginia Sapiro Boston University/Univ of Wisconsin - Madison

• Lorraine Bayard de Volo University of Colorado, Boulder

• Rosalee A. Clawson Purdue University

• Janet E. Johnson CUNY-Brooklyn College

• Carol A. Mershon University of Virginia

• Paula D. McClain Duke University