Introduction: Harassment in the Field

Since the start of the #MeToo movement in October 2017, experiences of intimidation and sexual harassment of (women) scientists at universities are no longer denied or dismissed. However, the issue of safety during fieldwork remains rarely addressed. As doing fieldwork requires close relationships with informants in unfamiliar settings, researchers often find themselves in vulnerable positions. Despite studies indicating that experiences of sexual intimidation are relatively common, discussions on the topic have remained in the margins of academic debates. LOVA’s Working Group Safety in the Field has compiled a Special Issue around this theme. With this Special Issue, we aim to reflect on the impact of harassment and intimidation in the field and how this relates to the way we think of ‘the ethnographer’ within academia.