AN Antarctic researcher revealed how she hid a hammer in her bra after she was forced to arm herself against a male co-worker.
Liz Monahon has detailed her ordeal at a remote research station in 2022 where she was a ship mechanic at the US research station McMurdo.
Liz Monahon/APLiz Monahon hid a hammer in her bra while working with a research crew in Antarctica in 2022[/caption]
GettyMonahon was working at the McMurdo Station in 2022[/caption]
It comes as a research group in Antarctica has pleaded to be rescued, claiming they are trapped with a madman who has sexually assaulted a colleague and threatened to kill them.
The South African research group are set to be at the remote Sanae IV base until December, having only arrived last month.
Monahon, from the US, was 1,500km from the South Pole when she was allegedly threatened and sexually harassed in 2022.
The then 34-year-old was isolated for months with the small crew that included an amateur boxer who had a history of alcohol-related criminal offending in New Zealand, a judge later said.
The team were surrounded by vast sheets of ice, faced temperatures as low as minus 30 degrees, and experienced the constant darkness of winter in the Antarctic.
She recalled: “[There was] No one but myself was there to save me.”
Fearing that the fellow colleague would kill her, she grabbed a hammer and concealed it in her sports bra or her overalls.
“If he came anywhere near me, I was going to start swinging at him,” she said.
“I decided that I was going to survive.”
Her fears were sparked after repeated run-ins with the man, especially at one of the on-site bars where Monahon claimed he and his pals started taunting her and a friend about sleeping with them.
He allegedly later shouted at her saying, “snitches will get stitches” while shaking with fury.
One on instance, the bartender called 911 and cleared everyone but Monahon out, later saying, “It was an open secret that that guy had been harassing her”.
In a statement to the HR department about the colleague in question, she said: “[He] is a danger to me. He has threatened my life.
“He is capable of hurting me and he wants to hurt me.
“I have been living in fear for the last two days.”
After Monahon started arming herself with the hammer, her boss and colleagues grouped together to help keep her safe by sending her across the sea to a resupply outpost.
Upon her return to the US, Monahon slammed management for failing to protect her and her fellow colleagues, saying she only avoided physical harm thanks to their own actions.
“That was the thing that was so terrifying,” she said.
The man in question faced no legal action or any consequences for what he allegedly did to Monahon.
APThe man who Monahon accused faced no repurcussions[/caption]
Dr Ross HofmeyrThe Sanae IV base where workers are currently trapped and claiming a co-worker has threatened to kill them and sexually assaulted team members[/caption]
South African National Antarctic ProgrammeThe researchers at the Sanae IV base arrived in February and are due to remain there until December[/caption]
That same year, the National Science Foundation, a federal agency overseeing the US Antarctic Program, found that more than half of women said they experienced harassment or assault.
After the report was released, more women came forward about their experiences, with one claiming a colleague pinned her down with his leg on her throat.
And Jennifer Sorensen claimed that in 2015 she was raped by a co-worker at McMurdo but did not report it at the time.
She said: “On station, I had no advocate to speak on behalf of my needs and protection, no jail to protect me from my rapist, and no knowledge of any present law enforcement personnel.”
After informing the male colleague’s employer, GHG Corp., they launched an investigation and told her: “We have concluded that you were a victim of sexual harassment”.
FROZEN IN FEAR
Now the crew on the Sanae IV base, made up of three women and six men, have begged South African authorities for help after raising concerns about a co-worker.
They claim that while they are isolated together 2,000 miles away from civilisation, he has violently attacked members, threatened them, and sexually assaulted two of them.
A desperate email from one member on site said: “Regrettably, [his] behaviour has escalated to a point that is deeply disturbing.”
“Specifically, he physically assaulted [name withheld], which is a grave violation of personal safety and workplace norms.
“Furthermore, he threatened to kill [X], creating an environment of fear and intimidation.”
“I remain deeply concerned about my own safety, constantly wondering if I might become the next victim,” they added.
South Africa’s environment minister, Dion George, said he would personally speak to the team to discuss the situation.
He added South African authorities have reached out to officials in Norway and Germany, who have bases closest to Sanae IV, “in the event that we need to do an urgent intervention”.
Officials have said that they are in daily contact with the team and that “there were no incidents that required any of the nine overwintering team members to be brought back to Cape Town.”
YoutubeOne explorer shared the kitchen storage inside the Sanae IV base[/caption]
YoutubeA break room with a pool inside the research cabin[/caption]
Dr Ross HofmeyrWith temperatures below -23°C and 135 mph winds, the base’s isolation pushes its researchers to the brink[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
