#MeToo in space: Sexual harassment and assault away from Earth

This is the case of sexual harassment and assault on Canadian female space researcher away from the earth.

On Dec. 3, 1999, Judith Lapierre, a Canadian researcher, embarked on a 110-day Mars simulation experiment aboard a Mir Space Station replica in Moscow.

One month into the study, the Russian chief commander discussed running an experiment where Lapierre would be treated as the crew's sexual object

On New Year's Eve, he stated it was time to "do the experiment," and forcibly grabbed and kissed Lapierre despite her repeated requests to stop.

Dr. Lapierre also hid the chamber's kitchen knives because of worry that another violent fight could occur.

Dr. Lapierre notified the Canadian Space Agency and informed her Austrian crew commander, who immediately demanded action from the local and international management.

Russian news outlets blamed and misrepresented her as depressed and the cause of unrelated problems, including a physical altercation between Russian crew members

The aggression during the simulation experiment was reduced to cultural differences

And since then, Lapierre's time in the space sector became an uphill battle because she spoke out.

Sexual harassment has also happened in other contextssimilar to the extreme conditions of actual and simulated space environments.

A 2022 report commissioned by the NSF showed that out of the 290 female respondents, 72 percent and 47 percent agreed that sexual harassment and sexual assault.

Arrow

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