Perverts on Ice: Plagued by Sexual Harassment and Assault, US McMurdo Station in Antarctica Stops Serving Alcohol in Bars – Alleged Victims Weigh In on the Measures
Down at the White Continent, it was every woman for herself. Now, things seem to be changing. But are they?
In McMurdo Station, the United States Antarctic research station on the south tip of Ross Island, a cluster of buildings hugging the frozen shore is operated by the National Science Foundation (NSF).
It’s the largest community in Antarctica, with up to 1,200 residents, a hub for American scientific activities on the ‘snow desert’.
It’s also a place where, reportedly, a culture of rampant sexual harassment and assault has developed, along with a correspondent pattern by the management of minimizing women’s claims.
Starting Sunday, the workers at the base will no longer be able to buy alcohol at the bars, after the NSF decided to stop serving alcohol.
Associated Press reported:
“McMurdo Station will not be going entirely dry, the National Science Foundation confirmed. Researchers and support staff will still be able to buy a weekly ration of alcohol from the station store. But the policy shift could prove significant because the bars have been central to social life in the isolated environment.”
These changes come right as concerns grow that sexual misconduct is festering at McMurdo, so it’s hard not to see it as connected.
The NSF says that the changes involving alcohol are ‘related to morale and welfare at the base’, and were not directed at preventing sexual harassment or assault.
“Under the new rules taking effect Sunday, workers will be able to order only alcohol-free drinks at McMurdo’s two main bars, Southern Exposure and Gallagher’s. They will still be able to bring their own alcohol to drink at the bars. A third venue which also served alcohol, the Coffee House, will become entirely alcohol-free but will now stay open for workers to visit any time of the day or night.”
The ration allows Antarctic workers to buy up to the equivalent of 18 beers each week, or three bottles of wine, or a 750 milliliter (25 ounce) bottle of spirits.
The NSF is also instituting new measures that are specifically aimed at preventing sexual harassment and assault at the base, where typically around 70% of workers are men.
The NSF report, in 2022, showed that 59% of women had experienced harassment or assault while on the base.
72% of women declared that such behavior was a problem in Antarctica.
Jennifer Sorensen alleges she was raped at McMurdo back in 2015. She said the NSF had tried before – without success – to pin the blame on alcohol for the high rates of sexual misconduct at the base.
“’They know full well that all the rationing or denial of alcohol sales being forced on us isn’t going to do a damn thing’, she said.
[…] ‘Alcohol can obviously blur the lines of consent, there’s that issue at play, but overwhelmingly, sexual assault has occurred even when neither party has been consuming alcohol, as was the case with me’, Sorensen said. ‘So it’s definitely not going to eliminate the problem’.”
Other victims also weighed in.
Telegraph reported:
“Britt Barquis said there was ‘no alcohol involved’ when she was groped at McMurdo in 2017.
She continued: ‘I was later told by my company’s HR that I would have to work with the perpetrator again because his job was mission-critical and there was no one else to fill his role.’
[…] ‘None of these new policies implemented by the NSF would prevent that from happening again.”
Read more about sexual harassment in McMurdo Station:
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