The Respect@Work report highlighted the need for sector-targeted, easy-to-use resources that are victim-centred and readily accessible.
The Association of Australian Medical Research Institutes (AAMRI) and the Women in Science Parkville Precinct (WiSPP) launched the Respect in Research Project to develop recommendations to help sector members prevent and respond to sexual harassment.
In 2022, the project consulted extensively with students, employees and leaders from the health and medical research sector as well as experts in gender equity, diversity and inclusion and sexual or gender-based violence.
The soon-to-be-released report identifies sector-specific risk and solutions and contextualises a range of research and resources that support organisations to effectively prevent and respond to sexual harassment. Whilst the project was instigated within medical research, the identified key risks and solutions are relevant and transferable to other academic research environments.
In this webinar, WiSPP Program Manager Alice Tinning shares the key themes that emerged from these consultations. These include the importance of:
- addressing sexism and other forms of discrimination
- capturing data to proactively manage risk
- adopting an intersectional approach
- shifting entrenched power dynamics in academia
- taking collective action
Afterwards, AAMRI members discuss weaknesses in the way sexual harassment is dealt with in health and medical research, and how they’re addressing those gaps in their own organisations.
Speakers and panellists
- Alice Tinning – WiSPP Program Manager
- Emma Burrows PhD – Executive Director, AAMRI
- Catherine Elliott– Deputy Director; Director of Research, Telethon Kids
- Louise Johansson – Diversity and Inclusion Manager, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute; AAMRI GEDI Working Committee Member
- Kim Kwan – Communications Coordinator, Journal of Neurochemistry; Project Manager, QueersInScience
- Vijaya Joshi – Health Equity Manager, Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre Alliance
Resources mentioned in the video
- Disrupting the system – preventing and responding to sexual harassment in the workplace, a report by the Champions of Change Coalition.
- Sexual harassment of women: climate, culture, and consequences in academic sciences, engineering and medicine, a report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (USA).
- We set the tone: eliminating everyday sexism, a report by the Champions of Change Coalition.
