A Chilean scientist has been found guilty of raping a French researcher during a 2019 Antarctic expedition, with prosecutors saying he exploited the “extreme and inhospitable conditions” while they rested in a tent on the Byers Peninsula.
The man, whose identity is withheld, will be sentenced on October 3 and faces between three and 15 years in prison under Chilean law.
The case highlights widespread issues of sexual assault and harassment in Antarctic research communities: a 2022 U.S. National Science Foundation survey found nearly three-quarters of women reported harassment and almost half reported assault as serious problems at research stations, with similar findings echoed by Australia’s Antarctic Division.
Image credit: Torsten Dederichs
That’s why women shouldn’t be in expeditions.
Their fem exhibition does not gel with expeditions.
When the balls overpower the brain
And men get out of control
A head with no brains
An eye that cannot see
Hangs around with a couple of nuts
And its best friend is a bunt