NSF Announcement
The United States Antarctic Program - Affirmation of Non-Harassment Policy Statement
National Science Foundation
For the full statement, go to:
https://www.nsf.gov/geo/opp/documents/policy/Non-harassment%20Affirmati… (PDF 795.65 KB)
Dear U. S. Antarctic Program Participants,
The United States Antarctic Program (USAP) is committed to providing a safe and respectful work environment, free of any form of harassment. All USAP participating organizations take this responsibility very seriously. As harassment can take many forms, definitions and additional context are provided below to assist all USAP organizations and participants in preventing and identifying behavior considered completely unacceptable.
Harassment - Harassment is prohibited by Federal law. It is defined as any unwelcome verbal or physical conduct based on race, color, religion, sex (includes sexual harassment and discrimination based on pregnancy), disability, age, national origin, sexual orientation, and protected genetic information that is so objectively offensive as to alter the conditions of the individual's employment. Harassment unreasonably interferes with an employee's performance, and can create an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment. Any retaliation against an individual who has brought forth a complaint alleging harassment is similarly unlawful.
Sexual Harassment - Sexual Harassment includes unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature when the conduct is made as a condition of employment and when the conduct creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment.
All USAP personnel are already subject to various policies or rules that prohibit this conduct. For instance, all USAP participants are subject to the USAP Code of Conduct and military personnel are subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice and applicable service regulations. All personnel are also subject to the various specific anti-harassment policies of their employing organizations. Additionally, the National Science Foundation's Office of Polar Programs has charged the Antarctic Support Contractor (ASC) with establishing practices and procedures for reporting harassment; these practices and procedures will apply to ASC personnel as well as all USAP participants, including grantees when deployed at USAP stations and on research vessels.
If at any time you feel that a member of the Antarctic community, regardless of organizational affiliation, is violating any of these principles and standards, please speak up. As soon as safely possible, you should report issues to your supervisor, principal investigator, department chair, commanding officer, or human resources, ethics, or legal representatives, as applicable. You may also contact the National Science Foundation's Office of Polar Programs directly if you feel the concern warrants external review.
- U.S. Antarctic Program Executive Management Board
For the full statement, go to:
https://www.nsf.gov/geo/opp/documents/policy/Non-harassment%20Affirmati… (PDF 795.65 KB)