Sexual Harassment and Violence in the Practice of Anthropology: Creating Safe Conversational Spaces for CASCA Members

Marieka Sax; Marie Michèle Grenon; María Cristina Manzano-Munguía; Tara Joly

doi:10.18357/anthropologica64120221048

Authors

Marieka Sax University of Northern British Columbia
Marie Michèle Grenon Université Laval
María Cristina Manzano-Munguía Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla
Tara Joly University of Northern British Columbia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18357/anthropologica64120221048

Keywords:

anthropology, #metoo, researcher safety, sexual harassment, sexual violence

Abstract

The Canadian Anthropology Society is working to address sexual
harassment and violence at institutional and community-based settings where
anthropologists undertake their work. In 2021, the newly formed Sexual
Harassment and Violence Working Group held a roundtable at the CASCA
conference to start a conversation about sexual violence among CASCA
members and to workshop best practices to prevent, disrupt, and respond
to incidents of sexual harassment and violence that CASCA members may
experience or observe. Here, the Working Group summarizes the process of
planning, implementing, and following up the roundtable, focusing on specific
actions taken by the organizers to ensure a safe conversational space before,
during, and after the event. We demonstrate how the roundtable aligns within
the larger framework of CASCA’s institutional history and future. The goal
of this report is to provide a framework for convening difficult conversations
in professional settings, especially in an online environment. We provide
recommendations to this end, and emphasize the need to hold further
conversations to combat the air of silence that remains, even in a post-#MeToo
world, surrounding sexual violence in anthropology.

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