Gender Based Violence at Sea: Collective Actions for Collective Trauma

Abstract: Gender Based Violence (GBV) has been a priority agenda in the international maritime community in recent years when GBV was anonymously reported through social media. GBV is particularly a challenge for young women seafarers who are more likely to experience sexual harassment than their male counterparts. Nevertheless, GBV is a common problem for all seafarers on board where a hostile environment and hierarchical and male-dominated work cultures may foster GBV. A similar term, sexual assault and sexual harassment (SASH) is used during the meetings of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), in relation to a new mandatory training on the prevention of bullying and harassment including SASH. The paper also used a theory of “collective trauma” which refers to how silently GBV or SASH had been practised and unchallenged in the culture of seafaring.

Keywords: Gender Based Violence (GBV), Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment (SASH), Women seafarers, Collective trauma

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1003735

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