Summary

A South African scientist at the remote Sanae IV Antarctic base has been accused of sexual assault and violent threats, prompting urgent pleas for help.

The 10-person team is stranded for months due to extreme winter conditions. Officials were warned of the escalating situation as early as December but failed to act.

South Africa’s environment department has launched an investigation and is offering counseling.

The incident raises concerns over psychological screening for Antarctic missions, echoing past violent incidents in South Africa’s research programs.

  • null_dot@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    3 hours ago

    this article says physical assault, not sexual.

    “An intervention is in place,” he said. “The person who assaulted the team leader is remorseful and has been psychologically re-evaluated willingly.” Asked what triggered the alleged assault, George said: “It was a dispute over a task the team leader wanted the team to do – a weather-dependent task that required a schedule change.”

  • werefreeatlast@lemmy.world
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    3 hours ago

    The articles is so interesting! Why not have our greatest heroe leaders enjoy some of this peaceful resort-like friendly environment? Orange man would absolute love it. Swasticman too would love the outdoors! There, the white snow is powerful! One might say it has white…maybe one might not say that, wink, wink! C’mon O man and S man, go check it out! Maybe clean up DEI over there?

  • Vagabond@lemm.ee
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    18 hours ago

    You would imagine the people that go to Antarctica are prepared to be self reliant. It’s 9 vs 1. You could institute a little ice justice (beat him) and lock him in a room.

  • AidsKitty@lemmy.world
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    9 hours ago

    First of all these are allegations. An investigation should be conducted to gather all evidence to see if charges should be filed.

    • null_dot@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      3 hours ago

      South Africa’s environment minister, Dion George, whose department manages the country’s Antarctic programme, confirmed that an assault had taken place and that he was “considering options”, without specifying what these were.

      … so not merely allegations.

  • the_riviera_kid@lemmy.world
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    1 day ago

    I would think frontier justice would apply nicely in this situation. Just boot the asshole out in the cold and nature will solve the problem for you.

    • courageousstep@lemm.ee
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      1 day ago

      Women and some other minorities are raised to not even consider using acts of violence to protect ourselves, like it never crosses our minds as a possibility that we could physically hurt an assailant if we wanted to. We have internalized a sense of weakness that isn’t actually true. This has been detrimental to our safety as well as the safety of other women. Fuck the patriarchy for doing this to us.

          • JacksonLamb@lemmy.world
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            11 hours ago

            My point is that the women being sexually assaulted in Antarctica haven’t been passively sitting there saying it “never crossed their mind” to protect themselves - one had to walk around for months wielding a hammer to use as a weapon against her assailant.

            It’s the wider system down there and the rape culture society that is creating this system not some kind of passive internaluzed helplessness. Most women field scientists are tough as nails because they have to be.

            • cool@lemmings.world
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              10 hours ago

              rape culture society

              Stop putting faith in shitty people if we want rape culture to stop. Too many times I see people complain about “rape culture” when hanging around scumbags (jocks, gangbangers, scammers). Find better influence, value different things, and have higher standards.

              Rape culture only exists because we allow it to.

              • JacksonLamb@lemmy.world
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                10 hours ago

                people complain about “rape culture” when hanging around scumbags

                Are you saying thst women scientists shouldn’t “hang around” Antarctica?

                Because that’s fucked up and another example of putting the emphasis on the victims actions.

                Rape culture only exists because we allow it to.

                NOW you’re on the right track. We as societies should be stepping down a lot harder on this crap.

                • cool@lemmings.world
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                  10 hours ago

                  I’m referring to the macrocosm of rape culture outside of Antarctica.

                  We need to be willing to recognize and ostracize scumbags and womanizers. Unfortunately, we tend to elevate them to the highest positions of power in our social circles.

                  That needs to change.

      • SirEDCaLot@lemmy.today
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        21 hours ago

        Absolutely 100%. I think basic self-defense should be a required course in middle school or high school, especially for women. And I would encourage any woman or any person for that matter to take charge of their personal defense, in whatever way is most comfortable for them. Carry a gun, carry a taser, carry pepper spray, take martial arts classes like Krav, etc.

        • cool@lemmings.world
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          10 hours ago

          A gun is pretty much the best solution, especially for a woman.

          Tasers, pepper spray, martial arts, etc don’t always work and usually serve to just piss off your assailant.

          I keep saying this: women and minorities should be the ones owning the most guns, not white males.

        • HellsBelle@sh.itjust.works
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          20 hours ago

          Schools should be teaching boys to respect women and not believe they have a ‘right’ to women’s bodies.

          If we hit the source of the problem it can be fixed … and the source is not women, it’s boys/men.

          • cool@lemmings.world
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            10 hours ago

            Schools should be teaching boys to respect women and not believe they have a ‘right’ to women’s bodies.

            What? This has nothing to do with schooling.

            Every time you see a woman get womanized, it just tells all the men that they don’t need to try as hard to get with her.

            Womanizers are successful because there’s a significant portion of women who want to be womanized. Look at all your personal experiences for no shortage of evidence to back this up.

            Women need to have higher standards and stop putting their faith in obvious scumbags if they want culture to change. Too many women expect guys to “mac” on them and assume the guys who don’t aren’t interested. It’s rhetoric that they proudly spew to each other without realizing the damage it does.

            “If he’s not talking to you, you can believe he’s talking to someone else!” This kind of stuff is a load of bullshit and only serves to give womanizers an edge over better people.

            “It’s easier to fool someone than to convince them they’d been fooled” - Mark Twain. This is true because the women who put their faith in shitty men don’t want to admit they valued the wrong things or have been taken for a ride, so they just keep going. Their “friends” who are doing the same thing also don’t want to admit it or change.

            Before you people get mad at me for “blaming the victim,” try to understand that avoiding holding women accountable for their actions contributes to idea of viewing them as helpless children.

          • ilovepiracy@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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            14 hours ago

            While this argument makes sense on paper, it completely nullifies the point. Both should be taught for the following reasons:

            1. You can educate people all you want, but that will not stop the people who simply never gave a flying fuck.
            2. Okay, now you’re back to square one, there are evil men out there that don’t give a fuck about anyone and WILL abuse you given the opportunity. Thank god they received a talk about how you shouldn’t hurt women when they were in 6th grade.
            3. You are now still in a situation where you have to respond to violence, but since self-defence wasn’t taught to you, you have to be a helpless victim of said violence.

            “It is better to be a warrior in a garden than a gardener in a war.”

            • HellsBelle@sh.itjust.works
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              13 hours ago

              Problem is everybody focuses on teaching girls/women and lets the boys/men off with nothing.

              Yes, both should be taught … so start pushing for the boys/men now.

              • cool@lemmings.world
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                10 hours ago

                If you’re hanging around people that need to be “taught” rape is bad, then maybe you should find a better friend group.

          • shalafi@lemmy.world
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            19 hours ago

            Good to know I’m the problem. How’s that strategy working out for you? Driving up toxic masculinity numbers this month?

            • HellsBelle@sh.itjust.works
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              18 hours ago

              Yes, take it personally and miss the whole point.

              Ofc it’s not all men, but there are a lot of men that cause the problem. So instead of whining about it, do something.

              • cool@lemmings.world
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                10 hours ago

                I’m doing something by telling everyone to stop putting their faith in shitty men.

                It’s like thieves. You can’t trust a thief and then act all surprised when he steals from you.

                Not all people are thieves just like not all men are rapists, but putting your faith in the ones who are obviously scumbags is opening yourself up to be taken advantage of by them.

                I wish I didn’t have to say this, but I see way too many women willingly getting taken advantage of by shitty people then getting mad at anyone who calls it out.

                At some point, we need to be able to protect ourselves from the predators.

                • Sierpi_ngon@lemm.ee
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                  7 hours ago

                  Many people are assaulted by family members, co-workers, people in position in power over them, pastors, doctors, peers in school; some are stalkers, manipulators, who use gaslighting, love bombing, and the slow boil a frog method. Many rapist seem kind, loving, gentle on the outside, people go on about how the person would never hurt anyone, or didn’t expect them to be assailants. Some are friends of friends, friends of family, other people at a party, people you didn’t invite but end up being around. Staying away from shitty people is not a solution, not all rapist can be ostracized and many rapist seem perfectly fine on the outside. Potentially anyone can be a rapist Not that everyone is a rapist, just that you can’t assume someone isn’t a rapist just because they’re normally adjusted or trusted in the community. Many victims are children, disabled, or elderly who don’t pick who they’re around.

                  Then you have rape apologist, who defend rapist even if evidence is damning, even if they are found guilty in court. Victims have little power when the people around them won’t believe them or won’t protect them. Staying away is horrid advice and only puts the blame on the victims themselves.

        • courageousstep@lemm.ee
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          1 day ago

          The need to be polite and feeling of blame are both an extension of the lie that we are weak and can’t physically stand up for ourselves. It doesn’t necessarily matter whether we’re believed if we are ultimately safe from the assault in the first place.

          But our culture has made us forget that we are strong and capable, has raised us to never develop the muscles to be able to stop someone, to never tear an assailant’s skin off with our teeth, etc.

          I could be wildly out of left field, here, and I am extremely privileged that I’ve never been hurt in this way. I just want to see minorities believe that we are strong…because we are.

          • cool@lemmings.world
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            9 hours ago

            But our culture has made us forget that we are strong and capable, has raised us to never develop the muscles to be able to stop someone, to never tear an assailant’s skin off with our teeth, etc.

            I really don’t think we should be perpetuating the idea that women can rely on their strength to fight off an offender.

            It has the knock-on effect of emboldening women to put themselves into situations they otherwise would not because “they know how to fight” or what have you. Then they find out just how powerful testosterone is and bad things happen.

            I’m serious. As a man who gets next to no exercise, I still feel strong as hell. I still feel like I could demolish any chick who isn’t hitting up the gym 5 days a week. I wouldn’t, but it’s scary to think about. The natural advantage that testosterone gives, coupled with males being brought up to think they need to be tough, paints a very poor picture for the “girl power” crew that wants to pretend women can reliably combat men.

            Really, the best thing we can be doing is teaching people how to avoid dangerous situation altogether. It’d be nice if we could create a culture of recognizing womanizing scumbags when we see them.

          • CheeseToastie@lazysoci.al
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            1 day ago

            I agree with a lot of what you say. Just bear in mind if they kill/harm someone to prevent themselves being raped, they have to explain this to various authorities. And may feel they won’t be believed

      • the_riviera_kid@lemmy.world
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        1 day ago

        I am sad for the way you were raised, in my entire extended family there is not one woman who would have put up with it or had any thought other than self-defense at whatever cost.

        • courageousstep@lemm.ee
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          24 hours ago

          I’d love to spread your family’s mindset through the larger white American culture (the one in which I was raised)!

            • Taldan@lemmy.world
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              16 hours ago

              I’m going to go out on a limb and guess you’re not a woman. I think you’re underestimating how prevalent and protected sexual assault can be

        • Zippygutterslug@lemmy.world
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          23 hours ago

          You mean there aren’t any women who would talk about it in your family I guess, cause statistically speaking that’s not likely.

          • cool@lemmings.world
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            10 hours ago

            It’s not really unique to women or SA. I’m not trying to downplay the severity of it, I’m merely highlighting how most crimes are actually quite hard to prove and get justice for.

            For example, most people whose cars are broken into never receive justice.

      • NotLemming@lemm.ee
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        1 day ago

        Have you watched the handmaids tale series? Spoiler alert, but

        the main character starts out seemingly powerless, being repeatedly assaulted etc. By the 3rd series she’s murdered one of the state sponsored rapists by stabbing him with a pen I think, then the other women hide the evidence and secretly cremate the guy in a furnace.

        The lesson I took is that people are always more powerful than they think and solidarity is very important.

        Also that the attitude #TraumatiseThemBack is valid when dealing with evil.

        • courageousstep@lemm.ee
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          24 hours ago

          I have! That show absolutely terrifies me, since yeah, a small minority of people convinces a ton of other people to do violence against women in a way that feels very USA 2025. But that’s a great point! When the main character realizes her power, she goes far in protecting herself and others.

          It’s difficult because our culture trains us from birth to never realize we can fight back. Like, I have a strong suspicion that if I was suddenly attacked, my brain would dump all ideas of fighting back and just freeze, which of course allows the violence to happen. I don’t think this is a “natural state” of being for women or any person. I think we were just trained this way, which makes it a very difficult mindset to overcome; I believe that this is by design.

          So…how do we retrain women and girls to respond with a #traumatizethemback mindset? Seems impossible to do this at the cultural level, at least for several generations.

          • notabot@lemm.ee
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            23 hours ago

            I have a strong suspicion that if I was suddenly attacked, my brain would dump all ideas of fighting back and just freeze, which of course allows the violence to happen.

            Find, and take, local self defence classes. Not necessarily martial arts classes (though they may be involved), but real world self defence. It’ll be grittier, nastier and much better practice. Get used to grappling and fighting in a controlled environment, and you’ll be much less likely to freeze if you need it in an emergency.

            You’re right that’ll it’ll take a long time to change at a cultural level, but that needs to start somewhere, and obe person doing it and then encouraging others could be a local catalyst.

            • courageousstep@lemm.ee
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              23 hours ago

              Thank you for the encouragement. I do need to do this. Especially with the current climate in the USA.

      • Charlxmagne@lemmy.world
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        20 hours ago

        Icl, I’d say it’s the opposite in terms of we need less fatherlessness, not just for girls but boys as well; not only does no father figure often lead to degenerocity, particularly in women, but also since a father would care about protecting his daughter more than anything (hopefully), they can help/teach their daughters to protect themselves.

        Women naturally being more compassionate, definitely leads to them being more vulnerable though, I agree.

      • corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca
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        22 hours ago

        Oh. You assume a female victim.

        You may be surprised to learn there’s room in the trending for other combinations; and I will try to believe that assertion, as I want to expect the best from you.

    • Miles O'Brien@startrek.website
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      1 day ago

      Exactly what I was thinking.

      When you’re cut off from any help, you ARE your own help. Don’t wait for something unthinkable to happen, this person has made it clear they don’t respect you or boundaries, and have made threats.

      It’s 9v1, if you’re scared just wait until they’re asleep. Kick them out the door, lock it, and they can try walking their happy ass back to civilization. from Antarctica

      Don’t bother looking for a body.

    • lost_faith@lemmy.ca
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      23 hours ago

      That is close to my thought, “Hey asshole, you gotta sleep sometime…”

  • AnIndefiniteArticle@sh.itjust.works
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    1 day ago

    I’ve seen enough scifi to know that (ant)arctic research stations ought to have a quarantine area so that ill crewmembers can be compassionately kept alive separated from those they might harm while still having access to life support in a hostile environment.

    • tomatolung@sopuli.xyz
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      1 day ago

      Antarctic builds are costly, difficult, and filled with challenges you don’t see in daily life, so while that might seem like a simple idea, it’s about half as hard as as putting it on the space station, with a 10th or less the budget.

  • cool@lemmings.world
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    10 hours ago

    What are the specifics? How did he physically and sexually assault someone?

    Seems like you would want to plaster that information front-and-center if you really wanted to hold this guy accountable.

    • vxx@lemmy.world
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      4 hours ago

      Help me, he’s beating me!

      Not so fast, how exactly is he beating you?

    • notabot@lemm.ee
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      23 hours ago

      They’re cut off, noone’s getting in or out until the weather improves, which will be months. The team are on their own with the attacker until then and will probably appreciate counselling when they’re out.

        • notabot@lemm.ee
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          18 hours ago

          From the article:

          The 10-person team is trapped at the remote Sanae IV base, which is on a cliff edge about 105 miles inland from the ice shelf, by encroaching ice and weather as the southern hemisphere winter sets. Teams overwintering at the base are typically cut off for 10 months at a time. Sources told South Africa’s Sunday Times that the only way to leave the base now was via emergency medical evacuation to a neighbouring German base about 190 miles away.

          As far as I can see it’s currently the end of the Antarctic summer, winter is just starting, and will likely last until October. It sounds like something went badly wrong with both the psychological screening of the team members, and the decision for the ice breaker that delivered them to leave before the situation was resolved.

        • Skua@kbin.earth
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          18 hours ago

          The article says that it is cut off for ten months per year, so I assume the two months of accessibility are only the absolute peak of summer. That would suggest that they’re right at the start of the ten month period just now