Researchers hired by a task force of alumni from the US Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) in Kings Point are questioning claims by US authorities that there are problems with sexual assault and harassment at the school.
Self Solutions, which released interim results of its ongoing study, also raised doubts about the data used by the US Department of Transportation (DOT) to justify the decision to block US-flag shipowners from taking on cadets from the government-run university.
As TradeWinds has reported, US officials have couched the suspension of sea year on commercial vessels as the latest step in efforts to respond to government surveys that found that 17.1% of women and 2% of men at the school have said they were sexually assaulted.
Controversial step
The decision was decried by many stakeholders in US-flag shipping who say that there was little evidence that such assaults were happening onboard ships and that the sea year is the linchpin of the education at Kings Point.
The study commissioned by the Alumni Association and Foundation (AAF)’s Task Force on the Prevention of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment found "zero evidence that sea year is unsafe".
And Self Solutions' James Pfautz, a former navy commander who is leading the study with colleague Mary Clisbee, tells TradeWinds that their team of researchers did not find the culture of "dominance and control" that is associated with a climate of sexual harassment.
'Family culture'
Rather, they found more of a tight-knit family culture at USMMA.
"We found zero evidence to say that there was a culture of sexual assault either at sea or at Kings Point," he said.
The Self Solutions study questioned the government's reliance on survey data when claiming that USMMA has a higher incidence of sexual assault and harassment than other federal service academies.
Longer timeframe
The surveys of Kings Point cadets had covered incidents over an 18-month period of time, while Department of Defense surveys only asked students at the other service academies about a 11-month period.
And in a question about the location of the sexual assault, Self Solutions points out that one answer choice in the Kings Point study was "summer experience/training/sea year”, meaning a commercial ship was one of three off-campus locations the alleged assault could have taken place.
The government's study "failed to follow key best practises for administering surveys on sexual assault and harassment, which could have led to inaccurate results," Self Study said.
TradeWinds has requested comment from the US Maritime Administration (Marad), which runs Kings Point. An academy representative could not be immediately reached for comment. Maritime Administrator Paul "Chip" Jaenichen (pictured) has said that the decision to suspend sea year was based on more than just survey results.
DOT and the US Maritime Administration, which runs Kings Point, have also cited survey results that showed a high incidence of sexual harassment against cadets at the school.
But Pfautz said there is confusion the definition of sexual harassment, and any actual harassment takes place represents only isolated incidents.
"There is lack of clarity among midshipmen about what constitutes sexual harassment both at Kings Point and during Sea Year," the study found.
Captain Eileen Roberson, who is leading alumni task force, said it released interim results of the study to help inform policy decisions out of fear that DOT will take a decision based on "statistically flawed data".
Female mariners
“In sharing common-sense recommendations with the Kings Point community, we hope to protect the livelihood of the next generation of female mariners,” said task force member Andrea Morrison, a task force member who graduated from USMMA in 2010 and who works on a US-flag tanker.
“Sea year has always empowered young women to join the US maritime fleet and provided them the training and credentials to enter into meaningful, impactful careers.”
Primary source: Self Solutions report
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