Summary
A South African scientist at the remote Sanae IV Antarctic base has been accused of sexual assault and violent threats, prompting urgent pleas for help.
The 10-person team is stranded for months due to extreme winter conditions. Officials were warned of the escalating situation as early as December but failed to act.
South Africa’s environment department has launched an investigation and is offering counseling.
The incident raises concerns over psychological screening for Antarctic missions, echoing past violent incidents in South Africa’s research programs.
Antarctic builds are costly, difficult, and filled with challenges you don’t see in daily life, so while that might seem like a simple idea, it’s about half as hard as as putting it on the space station, with a 10th or less the budget.
I’m not saying anything has to be built or installed, just rigged/signposted in physical reality and negotiated as social reality
Oh yeah, the person going around sexually assaulting people is going to respect a sign stating “do not enter”.