Safety of scientists under pressure, outgoing Minister points to TU Delft

Violence, threats, persecution, sexual harassment, the withdrawal of research funds: worldwide, many scientists have to deal with these things, the global counts of Scholars at Risk, for instance, show. At the request of minister demissionary Dijkgraaf and UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation), Utrecht law professor Janneke Gerards collected more studies and they mostly point in the same direction.

TU Delft

“Up to 40 per cent of scientists doing climate research have been threatened at one time or another,” Gerards says in a press release (in Dutch). “The same goes for scientists who did research on COVID-19. Such threats lead to scientists not daring to publish their research, engaging in self-censorship, or even quitting. Female scientists and scientists from certain minority groups are particularly at risk in this regard.”

Outgoing minister Dijkgraaf, among others, points to the problems in the Netherlands. His ministry’s news release says: “Recently, the education inspectorate drew firm conclusions about social safety at TU Delft. Safety is essential for scientists to do their important work. Dijkgraaf therefore thinks there should be more focus on this. This is a problem that concerns everyone. From government to knowledge institutions, to departments.”

HOP, BB