Making fieldwork safe for everyone.
Our Approach
Harassment and assault are common in fieldwork. In fact, studies have shown that 64% of surveyed field researchers experienced harassment—and one in five experienced assault— while conducting fieldwork. Women, people of color, LGBTQIA+ people, and people with other marginalized identities are more likely to experience these problems. To make matters worse, in at least three quarters of cases, victims don’t report through official channels. All of these statistics make it clear: harassment and assault are a barrier to inclusion for underrepresented people in fields like science, technology, engineering, and medicine (STEM) that rely on fieldwork for data gathering, teaching and learning, and surveillance and monitoring.
But solutions exist. At FieldFutures, our goal is to provide field teams, researchers, agencies, classes, and institutions with field-specific, evidence-based training. Drawing on evidence from the scientific literature, the FieldFutures team provides experiential interventions designed to empower participants to prevent, intervene in, and respond to identity-based harassment and assault in scientific and research field settings. Our approach is trauma-informed and intersectional, and aims to create field environments that prevent incidents before they happen.
Our vision
We envision a culture of fieldwork that is free from bullying, harassment, assault, discrimination, and abuses of power. In other words, we envision fieldwork that is safe, equitable, and welcoming to people of all identities and backgrounds.
Together, we can imagine and enact a new fieldwork future.
What do we mean by “fieldwork”?
Many professions, such as natural and social scientific research, natural resource extraction and management, social work, public health, education, and many more require fieldwork. We define “fieldwork” as any work that is conducted outside a normal office setting—whether that be on top of an Arctic glacier, in the middle of a crowded subway station, or on a fishing boat in the ocean. While the contours of these fieldwork settings may differ, they have one important thing in common: they are higher-risk than normal office settings for harassment and assault.
We offer workshops tailored to any fieldwork setting, including academic institutions, natural resource agencies, field stations, laboratories, non-profit organizations, and businesses. Get in touch to find out how we can meet the needs of your organization.
