A rape allegation posted online by a female member of the US Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) – who has come to be known as Midshipman X - has brought into sharp focus the issue of sexual assault at sea.
“I was a 19-year-old virgin when I was raped by a 60+ year-old 1st engineer aboard a Maersk ship during sea year,” she wrote. “I know several other current USMMA students who were also raped during sea year.”
She went on to say that of the 50 young women in her class at the USMMA where she is currently in her senior/1st Class year, everyone had a story to tell of sexual harassment, assault, or degradation at some point during the last three years at the academy or during sea year.
“Most people, and even the leaders of our school, do not seem to understand how serious this problem is, especially at sea.”
Her courageous stand has encouraged others to come forward – one of whom is Elizabeth C McNie, PhD and Associate Professor at the California State University Maritime Academy, who also holds a 2nd mate unlimited USCG licence. In an Op-ed published in gCaptain, she says too few come forward. “I was one who didn’t.”
McNie was working in the Alaskan fishing industry in the 1980s when she was raped aboard a boat. “Then, several years later, when I was a cadet on commercial cruise, I was kidnapped and sexually assaulted by a ‘trusted’ ship vendor. I blamed myself for what happened rather than acknowledge the grit I had for being able to return to work later that day,” she writes.
She points out that when women, and men too, come forward with allegations of harassment, assault, or rape, they can have their integrity, professionalism, competence, body, and previous romantic experiences scrutinised as if someone has to be perfect in every way before qualifying for the right to seek justice.
“Women are often not taken seriously. We’re told ‘it’ was our own fault because we were too flirty, too drunk, too weak, or that the clothes on our back were too suggestive. We had it coming. You know the adage: A ship is no place for a woman,” she adds.
When McNie was attacked so many years ago, she kept her traumas secret, “hoping that through hard work, and increasing numbers of women in the industry, conditions would get better. I truly believed they would. And in some ways, they have. For every ‘toxic’ shipmate, there are dozens of fantastic shipmates – allies, mentors, and leaders – who are part of the solution, not part of the problem.
“But before we can make changes to shipboard culture, academies, and industry, we need to acknowledge that sexual harassment, assault, and rape is a problem more widespread than it appears. For every Midshipman X, there may be dozens of seafarers who remain silent, as I did, in the face of such trauma. We need to recognise that cases such as hers are not isolated incidents but problems endemic to the industry.”
Following widespread reaction to the incident, a bill has been introduced aimed at providing additional safeguards for midshipmen at the USMMA.
