An invitation to the “Survey Concerning Sexual Violence and Harassment in Fieldwork Situations”

Dear colleagues

We are inviting you to complete an online survey about sexual violence and sexual harassment in fieldwork. The study is being conducted by a multidisciplinary research project team (Harassment in Fieldwork, HiF) led by Ruriko Otomo at Hokkaido University. The survey is supported by the Japan Inter-Society Liaison Association Committee for Promoting Equal Participation of Men and Women in Science and Engineering (EPMEWSE, https://djrenrakukai.org/en/index.html) and Gender Equality Association for Humanities and Social Sciences (GEAHSS, https://geahssoffice.wixsite.com/geahss)

The survey is strictly confidential and anonymous. It is bilingual (Japanese, English) and will be open during  January 15 – February 15, 2022. It should take no longer than 3–30 minutes to complete.

The purpose of the survey is to understand the actual situation regarding sexual violence and sexual harassment in fieldwork with a future aim to promote pre-fieldwork preparation and develop countermeasures.

We adopt a broad and cross-disciplinary definition of fieldwork as a way of doing research where individuals collect research data and materials first hand outside of the laboratory/office at your affiliated institution.

If you identify yourself as a fieldworker according to the aforementioned definition, your participation is most welcome. Even if you haven’t experienced sexual violence/sexual harassment, your input will also help provide valuable information not only for the betterment of the research environment for students and researchers undertaking fieldwork, but also for those who send their students to respective field sites. For those who haven’t experienced sexual violence/sexual harassment, the survey will take around 3-5 minutes.

We would be very grateful if you could consider helping us with our important research.

Please click on the web link below to begin the survey. You are directed to read the preface of the survey in a web page. At the bottom of this page, you will find the web link for the online survey (Please note the web link for the online survey will be accessible after 9:00 pm on January 15). 

https://safefieldwork.live-on.net/survey/purposes-of-this-survey-en/

Thank you very much for giving your time to help us with our research.
If you have queries or comments about the survey, please contact:
Ruriko Otomo
sub.fieldworkandsafety(at)gmail.com
Associate Professor
Research Faculty of Media and Communication
Hokkaido University
Kita 17, Nishi 8, Kita-ku, Sapporo,
Hokkaido, 060-0817, Japan