ISWAN is launching its campaign: ‘Safe at sea…it takes all of us!’, focusing on the role that men seafarers can take as allies in support of women colleagues.
According to ISWAN, in 2023, women were more than three times as likely to contact ISWAN’s helplines about an issue of abuse, bullying, harassment, discrimination and violence (ABHDV) than men. In the case of YachtCrewHelp, in 2023, women were more than five times as likely to report an experience of abuse, with ABHDV accounting for 14.2% of issues raised by women, as opposed to 2.7% of issues raised by men.
They were also more than twice as likely to raise a mental health issue. ISWAN, with support from co-funders The Seafarers’ Charity and UK P&I Club, will be rolling out the campaign online, at sea and ashore in industry hubs around the world over the coming months. The campaign can be followed on social media using the hashtags #CrewAllySHIP and #WeAllBelong.
We felt that opening up a discussion about the benefits of allyship and collective responsibility was a more positive and hopefully effective approach to encouraging widespread awareness of these issues and long-term behavioural change. Let’s create onboard environments where all are safe and all can thrive.
… said ISWAN’s Projects and Relationships Manager and Campaign Lead Georgia Allen.
Behind the scenes, ISWAN has spoken with seafarers and maritime stakeholders around the world and from across the shipping, cruise and superyacht industries to build the campaign and capture seafarers’ lived experiences. Many women seafarers shared the challenges that they had faced at sea and the impact on their health and wellbeing:
I have faced racism, misogyny, harassment, and threats more times than I can count, from both superiors and colleagues. While I often managed to counteract these behaviours, it was exhausting and soul-draining to always remain vigilant and alert when my primary focus should have been on my work.
… said a female seafarer
Georgia Allen emphasized that it was very important to ISWAN that all of their work be centered around the real voices and experiences of seafarers themselves. She stressed the need to consult seafarers on what they felt was actually needed, rather than making decisions on their behalf. According to Georgia Allen, the result was a campaign with the global voices of seafarers at its heart. She also expressed hope that the campaign would have a noticeable impact and mark the beginning of a much longer-term movement and commitment from across the sector to make seafaring truly safe and inclusive for all.
Find out more about the ‘Safe at sea…it takes all of us!’ campaign and how to get involved on ISWAN’s website here. ISWAN will also soon release two resources (one for seafarers and one for maritime sector stakeholders) containing information and guidance on how to build a safe and inclusive culture at sea.
To remind, in another significant step towards inclusion, last week, the Seafarers’ Hospital Society (SHS), launched a pilot project to provide women working at sea with free feminine hygiene products.
