Upon my arrival to the Entomological Society of America, I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect.

When I walked into the conference center, I was excited to see the list of all the business meetings promoting diversity within the society.

I walked toward the scoreboard for the final rounds of the Linnaean games, an insect knowledge bowl for students, when something caught my eye. There, pinned next to the scoreboard, was a flyer labeled “Ento-allies.”

There have been several articles released on this matter, including the two that saddened me the most: “My PhD Advisor Raped Me,” and “I Didn’t Report It.” I urge people to read this article because it is so well written and talks about something that could happen to anyone.

While I will be focusing on women students, there are also cases of men being assaulted and harassed. One study conducted by Clancy et al. titled “Survey of Academic Field Experiences (SAFE): Trainees Report Harassment and Assault,” researched how many individuals have dealt with these experiences while doing field work.

Out of the 666 people surveyed, 113 trainees were assaulted and 305 were harassed. Clearly, this is a big problem.

About a month before the meeting, ESA emailed all their members about their policy on sexual harassment and assault. It was relieving to see scientific groups take a stand against something that has unfortunately been occurring so frequently.

I hope to see this awareness spread to larger magnitudes with greater consequences for the perpetrators. The Ento-allies group encourages people to reach out to it if they are dealing with sexual harassment or assault. The group does not require any individual to file a report, but its members are there to listen to people who are dealing with these issues.

There is often shame and guilt that comes with sexual assault and harassment, and sometimes people blame themselves for what happened.

The only way to raise awareness is to break the silence and to be open to individuals who come forward about assault and harassment. Don’t ever blame the victim; be supportive and ask what you can do to help. Become an ally for not only victims in the science fields but individuals in your daily life.

I hope that by raising awareness, victims of sexual assault won’t feel like they need to hide or be ashamed of themselves, because in reality, victims of sexual assault or harassment are survivors and their stories can help to empower the women around them and can help others to step forward as well.

It’s time to break the silence so women can be the scientists they want to be without fear.

Ento-allies is a group that is separate from the ESA, but was created to help raise awareness of sexual assault and harassment in the sciences.

Their web address entoallies.wordpress.com is dedicated to make meetings safer for women. The website is also a great place for allies to learn how to help victims of assault and harassment.

These issues are starting to become more talked about in the science field due to more people talking about their experiences.

Becca Devine is a staff writer for The Dakota Student. She can be reached at

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