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BABAO Statement on Sexual Harassment

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Index

  • BABAO’s position
  • What is Sexual Harassment
  • Sexual Harassment within Archaeology and Anthropology
  • Member’s Responsibilities
  • Reporting Harassment to BABAO
  • Other sources of help and information
  • Conclusion
  • References

Last updated: 2024

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BABAO’s position

BABAO is committed to providing safe spaces which are free of sexual threats, harassment or assault, for all of our members regardless of their age, disability, gender identity, marital or parental status, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation, in addition to other identity characteristics not listed within the Equality Act 2010 [1].

What is Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment is defined in Section 26 of the Equality Act 2010 as “unwanted conduct of a sexual nature”, with this conduct having the purpose or effect of “violating dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment” [2].

There are different ways in which sexual harassment may manifest, for example:

  • Verbal: jokes, comments about someone’s appearance, using inappropriate terms to refer to someone (e.g., “sexy” or “baby”).
  • Non-verbal: displaying images of a sexual nature, staring, the inappropriate use of text or social media apps.
  • Physical: touching, massages, or unwanted or non-consensual sexual contact.

These behaviours can also be used to enforce power dynamics within professional contexts, particularly in a quid-pro-quo manner.

Sexual Harassment within Archaeology and Anthropology

BABAO represents members working in a diverse range of work environments, such as academia/higher education, commercial archaeology, forensic anthropology, and other areas of heritage management. BABAO recognises that sexual harassment is an ongoing problem within the fields of biological anthropology and archaeology, and therefore, may be encountered by members of the association. In 2020, Landward Research’s “Profiling the Profession” survey of archaeologists working in Britain found that 22% of respondents (total respondents = 1022) had experienced unwanted behaviour of a sexual nature directed towards themselves, with 32% of respondents saying they had seen it directed towards others [3]. Clancey et al. (2014) identified sexual harassment as a substantial issue within fieldwork contexts after surveying 666 individuals, the majority of whom were trainees or employees at the time. Of these individuals, 64% said that they had experienced sexual harassment (unwanted verbal behaviours), and 21.7% of respondents said they had experienced sexual assault (unwanted physical behaviours) [4].

Anybody, regardless of their identities, may be a perpetrator of or subjected to sexual harassment behaviours. However, some factors can increase the likelihood of someone experiencing these behaviours. Bradford and Crema (2022) highlighted that there is a particular risk of individuals who are not male or heterosexual experiencing sexual misconduct within archaeological and anthropological fieldwork settings [5]. Andrew, Bryan and Watson (2019) also found that female archaeologists in Britain aged under 30 were 10 times more likely to experience sexual harassment than those over 60 [6]. With BABAO’s membership being comprised of c. 80% women and c. 20% non-heterosexual individuals [7], these are important factors to consider.

It is also important to note that people who experience sexual harassment can experience a variety of short and long-term impacts. These can range from negative impacts on mental health to negative financial and career implications as extended sick leave or job loss may result from this unwanted behaviour.

Member’s Responsibilities

By becoming a BABAO member, individuals have agreed to abide by the association’s Code of Conduct and therefore are committed to following BABAO guidance, including that about guidance about behaviour in spaces associated with BABAO. This applies to all meetings, workshops, events, and activities organised by the association, including opportunities to socialise at BABAO events.

The Code of Conduct explicitly states that harassment in any form, including sexual harassment, will not be tolerated.

Members who experience or witness sexual harassment within BABAO spaces should report this to event organisers and the BABAO Trustees to ensure this behaviour can be promptly dealt with. Information regarding current BABAO Trustees is listed on the BABAO website.

As a community, BABAO wishes to support its members to recognise sexual harassment in all its forms and feel empowered to respond actively if they witness it. There is a growing awareness of the role that an “Active Bystander” can take in cases of harassment. “Active Bystanders” are people who witness harassment occurring and act during an event to prevent harm, defuse a situation, or act after the event to help those affected [8]. There is evidence that the presence of an “Active Bystander” can help reduce the level of harassment that occurs and increase the reporting of these behaviours [9]. The most important aspect of being an “Active Bystander” is to only intervene if it is safe to do so. Further information about being an “Active Bystander” can be found here, here, and here (full web links can be found below).

Reporting Harassment to BABAO

Reports of harassment, sexual or otherwise, can be made to BABAO during association events to the event organisers and trustees, or online at any time using BABAO’s Contact Form on the association’s website. If the Contact Form is used, then there is the option for the report to be made anonymously, however, this will limit the association’s ability to follow up on the report and offer the reporter the option to follow a formal complaint process.

If a report of sexual harassment is made, the procedural flowcharts designed to fulfil KPI 15 (“To ensure appropriate consequences are taken when dealing with racism, including strong management support and weight at senior leader/trustee level”) of BABAO’s Race Review [10] will be followed. These draw upon BABAO’s Code of Conduct, as well as the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs, some of which are publicly available on the association’s website) which document the association’s complaint procedure (SOP 3), serious incident reporting (SOP 4), and online events policy (SOP 12) (see Figures 1 and 2).

Figure 1. Flowchart showing procedures when an incident occurs in a BABAO event or communications.

Figure 2. Flowchart showing procedures for SOPs 3 (Complaint Procedure) and 4 (Serious Incident Reporting).

Where reports of harassment are made during an event, then the Code of Conduct will be followed meaning:

  • The event will be paused (Online Events Only – SOP 12)
  • The offender is removed from the event, their registration is rescinded and their readmittance to the event will be refused.
  • The event will restart (Online Events Only – SOP 12)

If a formal complaint is filed with the BABAO Trustees (SOP 3), then the BABAO Secretary will establish a complaints committee to investigate the complaint. If the complaint is upheld and the Code of Conduct is found to have been broken, then the offending member will have their BABAO membership permanently revoked or, if they are a non-member, be refused future membership. Individuals who make a report to BABAO will in no way be disadvantaged in regard to their participation within BABAO and its activities.

Depending on the nature of the incident, then BABAO reserves the right to report actions that are in breach of the law to the relevant authorities (SOP 4).

If BABAO members are attending events where BABAO’s own Code of Conduct is in power alongside Codes of Conduct or policies belonging to external organisations, such as higher education institutes, then members must follow all relevant policies regardless of the source organisation.

Other sources of help and information

Members of BABAO work in diverse environments and, more often than not, at events or places of work that fall outside of the jurisdiction of the BABAO Code of Conduct. If BABAO members experience or witness sexual harassment in such a situation, they are encouraged to report it by following any relevant policies belonging to the event or the host organisation, such as a higher education institution or an employer. Additionally, other organisations can provide additional help. For example, if an offender is a member of the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists (CIfA), then they can be reported for breaching professional conduct regulations. Or, if the affected individual/s is/are a member of a trade union (e.g., UCU or Prospect), they can seek legal advice from their union.

CIfA and British Archaeological Job Resources (BAJR) have created several lists featuring additional information which provide information about sexual harassment education and other organisations that may be able to provide help and advice for individuals affected by sexual harassment. These can be found on their websites: CIfA and BAJR.

Members are reminded that sexual harassment is illegal under the Equality Act 2010 and, therefore, these behaviours can be reported to the Police as a crime.

Conclusion

Sexual harassment is a collection of behaviours which can gravely affect those who experience them, affecting their ability to enjoy life and stay in employment. BABAO will not tolerate this behaviour in any form from anyone, members or otherwise, as all individuals in BABAO events have agreed to follow BABAO’s Code of Conduct which expressly forbids these behaviours.

Intext weblinks

Active Bystander Links

CIfA list of Sexual Harassment Resources

BAJR Guide on Sexual Harassment

References

[1] For more information about protected characteristics and the Equality Act (2010) go to https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/equality-act

[2] Equality Act 2010, Section 26: Harassment. Available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/section/26?view=plain

[3] Aitchison, German and Rocks-Macqueen (2021) Profiling the Profession: 2.18 Bullying and Harassment of Archaeologist. Available at: https://profilingtheprofession.org.uk/2-18-bullying-and-harassment-of-archaeologists/

[4] Clancy, Nelson, Rutherford, and Hinde (2014) Survey of Academic Field Experiences (SAFE): Trainees Report Harassment and Assault. PLOS One. 9(7): e102172. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0102172

[5] Bradford and Crema (2022) Risk factors for the occurrence of sexual misconduct during archaeological and anthropological fieldwork. American Anthropologist. 124(3): 548-559. DOI: 10.1111/aman.13763

[6] Andrew, Bryan and Watson (2019) Getting Our House In Order: Archaeologists Responses to Prospect’s Workplace Behaviours Survey. Available at: https://members.prospect.org.uk/your-prospect/branch/181/documents?_ts=891 (members only link)

[7] BABAO EDI Survey 2020 Results

[8] Becoming an Active Bystander (2023) University of Leeds. Available at: https://equality.leeds.ac.uk/support-and-resources/becoming-an-active-bystander/#When%20to%20be%20an%20active%20bystander

[9] Bell, Coker, and Clear (2019) Bystander Program Effectiveness: A Review of the Evidence in Educational Settings (2007-2018). In: O’Donohue and Schewe (eds) Handbook of Sexual Assault and Sexual Assault Prevention. Springer, Cham. p433-450. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-23645-8_26

[10] Arday and Craig-Atkins (2021) British Association for Biological Anthropology and Osteoarchaeology (BABAO): Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Race Equality Review. Available at: https://babao.org.uk/babao-race-equality-review/. Direct link to download: https://babao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/BABAO-EDI-Report-Arday-and-Craig-Atkins-April-2021.pdf

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