Salute Her UK provide a strong support network for Women At Sea. Our team are dedicated to helping women who are struggling at sea and we help to adjust to life outside of being at sea.

Seafarers live in two different worlds, the world of sea and the world of shore. These two different worlds have different norms and values. Some researchers have used the concept of ‘liminality’ to explain these two different worlds. Ships are regarded as liminal spaces because they are places where crews are physically and emotionally removed from the ties and constraints of their homes and families.

Both male and female seafarers experience a range of challenges when working at sea, but there are some challenges that are specific to women. Long contracts, months apart from family and friends, loneliness, isolation, job insecurity, risk of injury, and abandonment are issues that affect all seafarers, but women seafarers also face challenges that arise from the predominantly male working environment of the shipping industry.

Sexual Harassment and Intimidation Sexual harassment and intimidation are a major concern and one that needs firm action from all sectors of the maritime industry. It goes without saying that all vessels should be safe places for women to work. Sexual harassment or intimidation can take place in all kinds of ways, ranging from what might be perceived as harmless banter or inappropriate remarks, to threats, physical violence, and rape. Any kind of sexual harassment is unacceptable. Women cope with sexual harassment in a number of different ways. Often, on board vessels they may withdraw from social situations, perhaps choosing to avoid going to parties and general on-board social events, or if they do attend, they may choose to leave such occasions early. Some women result to locking themselves in their cabins for security at night and others may take drastic means to avoid being harassed, by altering and defeminising their appearance. All shipping companies and agencies need to find effective ways to address sexual harassment. One way forward is for shipping companies and agencies to have robust antiharassment policies and to be supportive when incidents are brought to their attention. Refraining from harassment and bullying, and the need to observe respect and dignity towards colleagues, can actually be written into employment contracts for seafarers. Research shows that some shipping companies have anti-harassment policies, and this emphasises that sexual harassment is unacceptable. Such policies appear to be most effective where efforts have been made to provide company training and courses about this.

Where anti-harassment policies are in place, women seafarers tend to be very positive about them, recognising that such policies set standards for the workplace, reduce incidences of sexual harassment, and create a more comfortable and safer working environment. Antiharassment policies need to be given high priority by shipping companies and agencies and should be actively disseminated amongst employees. Employees also need to be confident that their complaints, where made, will be taken seriously. Unfortunately, occupational hierarchies can have the effect of deterring women from reporting sexual harassment. Women may be very conscious of the impact their senior officers can have on their shipboard lives and indeed on their entire seafaring careers. It is in such environments that junior personnel in any organisation are most vulnerable to sexual harassment and exploitation. As the #metoo movement shows us, this powerlessness is experienced by women in other workplaces and not just in the maritime industry. The situation for women seafarers is particularly difficult because they can’t easily leave their ships once they are at sea. Formal complaints about sexual harassment are mostly made by women when they believe in the commitment of their employers to eliminate sexual harassment and/or where they have a witness who is willing to support their testimony. In the cruise ship sector, women in lower ranks and from developing countries feel very wary of making complaints about sexual harassment for fear it would lead to them losing their jobs.

Women Seafarers Report 2022