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.
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.
Icl, I’d say it’s the opposite in terms of we need less fatherlessness, not just for girls but boys as well; not only does no father figure often lead to degenerocity, particularly in women, but also since a father would care about protecting his daughter more than anything (hopefully), they can help/teach their daughters to protect themselves.
Women naturally being more compassionate, definitely leads to them being more vulnerable though, I agree.
What in the sexist did I just read?
How is saying we need fathers more involved in the lives of their daughters sexist? 🤣🤣🤣💀💀
How is saying fathers care for their daughters sexist? Apparently not hating all men and wanting every child to have as healthy of a relationship with their parents as possible is now sexist 🤦
2 generalizations of women according to sexist stereotypes. I shouldn’t feed the trolls but here we are.
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.
I never once blamed the victims. And I never will.
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.