Articles recently published in Science news and on the Tenure She Wrote blog have been important reminders that sexual harassment continues to be pervasive in anthropology (including archaeology, and along with many other disciplines).
It is important that senior members of our disciplines continue to speak out and campaign for change, and we thank those who have taken steps to bring cases such as this to light and who each day advocate for the safety of students and colleagues alike. It is also important that as peers we support each other through traumatic and confronting experiences. We side strongly with the position advocated for by Bernard Wood, in his 2015 Science article, that sexual harassment needs to be treated with zero tolerance. The task of changing this situation cannot rest with the victims nor with changing the behavior of individual perpetrators alone, the existing cultures of silence and inequality that have enabled such behavior have to change too.
As the current leaders of WAC’s Student Committee, we will continue to advocate for greater respect for the role of students within our profession and uphold the (non-radical) ideal that everyone should be able to practice and enjoy archaeology free from harassment of any kind.
In solidarity,
Kate Ellenberger and Jacqueline Matthews
(Chair and Vice-Chair of the WAC Student Committee)
[This statement was written by those signed and is not meant to represent the position of the committee or the entire WAC organization.]