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Culture of harassment persists for women in Southeast Asia’s conservation space

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During a 2020 field trip to a rural area in Vietnam, Hoa (not her real name), then working for a conservation-focused nonprofit, visited local authorities to discuss forest management. Vietnamese law requires local authorities to approve foreign-funded projects, so these types of informal meetings are crucial to a project’s success. Hoa was accompanied by three male colleagues, but during the event, she recalls, she was singled out to propose a toast with the village leader. He put his arm around her shoulder, which she said made her feel uncomfortable. Despite her unease, she had to conceal her discomfort and drink with him. To her dismay, Hoa noticed that he behaved similarly toward other female colleagues from the region, who appeared accustomed to such behavior. None of her colleagues offered to drink on her behalf, which is often a gesture of support for female colleagues in such situations. Later on, her three male colleagues, who were a dozen years her senior, made her even more uncomfortable. She recalls frightening moments when she was taking a shower in a shabby, open-air bathroom, while they made jokes outside. Some of the jokes included comments like, “Do you feel lonely bathing inside all by yourself?” “It is sickening to just recall the incident,” Hoa says. Hoa’s visit took place the same year that a law making workplace sexual harassment illegal came into effect in Vietnam. But Hoa remained silent, believing her workplace would be indifferent to the issue. Conservation workers from around Southeast Asia…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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