In 2014, the nation witnessed the unveiling of an ugly side of Grand Canyon National Park: a flood of sexual harassment claims that rushed in after a woman employed by the National Park Service reported the unwanted sexual advances from a man she worked with in the park’s River District.
An intensive federal investigation ultimately found that 35 employees had endured sexual harassment in the workplace, a problem that had been widely ignored for many years. According to Outside Online, Grand Canyon’s unspoken motto for decades was “Suck it up, buttercup.”
Nikki Cooley, the first Navajo woman to be licensed as a full-time Grand Canyon commercial river guide, experienced this sexual harassment firsthand. She described the river department as a “good ol’ boys club,” where demeaning comments and physical harassment were the norm. “There are people of the mindset that women are still to just be used for sexual favors,” Cooley said. “You never get privacy when you’re on the river.” Early in her guiding, Cooley, 41, said she looked past some of this harassment because she was young and new to the river community. Soon, though, the behavior became a disturbing pattern. “There’s always bad apples in the bunch,” Cooley said. “[They] showed you their private parts or didn’t do anything when a client was trying to grope and kiss you.” Although she didn’t report the harassment at the time, years of experience have made Cooley guarded and aware of how people treat her on the river. When she was young, she often did not realize the severity of a situation until it was too late. “If I had [reported it], I would have saved myself a lot of trouble. Now, I'm not afraid to tell people.” In a country where three out of four sexual assaults go unreported, Cooley is far from alone in her hesitation about speaking out against harassment. |
IF I HAD [REPORTED IT], I WOULD HAVE SAVED MYSELF A LOT OF TROUBLE. NOW, I'M NOT AFRAID TO TELL PEOPLE." |
UNEASINESS IN THE OUTDOORS
ACCORDING TO OUTSIDE ONLINE, 53% OF FEMALE SURVEY RESPONDENTS SAID THEY HAD, AT SOME POINT, BEEN SEXUALLY HARASSED WHILE RECREATING." |
Not every woman has faced severe situations like Cooley’s. Many have experienced discomfort, even if the encounter didn’t become physical confrontation.
These feelings are not irrational. According to Outside Online, 53% of female survey respondents said they had, at some point, been sexually harassed while recreating. Of this percentage, 93% were catcalled, 56% were followed by someone, 18% were flashed and 4% were attacked. In the outdoors, everyone faces a certain level of risk, whether it is from wildlife, topography or other natural dangers, or from other hikers. Many women, however, feel disproportionately threatened by other hikers; specifically male hikers. “I’ve never been afraid of bears, mountain lions, rattlesnakes or even the terrain itself,” Annette McGivney, 59, said. “I am afraid of men.” McGivney’s fears are rational. Sixty-six percent of the women surveyed by Outside Online said they had felt afraid for their safety at some point while recreating. Of those, only 12% said “bears'' were their biggest concern outdoors. Thirty-four percent said “men” or “getting assaulted/harassed.” Jasmin Tupy, 20, said it is this fear that often makes her hesitant to trust male counterparts in the outdoors. As a woman, she always has her guard up when men offer help, not sure if they have ulterior motives. “Guys in the outdoors typically don’t have to worry about being assaulted by another person because they are male,” Tupy said. Because of this fear, many outdoorswomen have developed habits that their male counterparts would most likely never consider. When Mal Belknap, 24, hiked the Appalachian Trail, she noticed it was second nature for the women in her group to turn around after passing a man on the trail to ensure he was still hiking in the opposite direction. “It was totally subconscious,” Belknap said. “The guys [in the group] would be like, ‘Why did you do that?’” Belknap also noticed that many of her male counterparts hiked with headphones, whereas she and the other women did not, for safety reasons. Safety concerns transfer into conversation on the trail as well. Raukisha Talley, 33, explained that she answers questions differently than men do when she’s outdoors. On the trail, it is generally common courtesy to ask other hikers where they’re hiking and who they’re with. “Being a woman alone,” Talley said, “those types of questions make me feel a high sense of lack of security.” On one backpacking trip, Talley ended up sleeping in a hammock, away from the shelter where she had originally planned, because she felt uncomfortable when a man there asked if she was going to spend the night. “I’m not actually staying,” she said. “I was just coming through to check out the shelter for future visits.” |
A SAFE SPACE
While the outdoors brings up safety concerns among many women, it offers a peaceful sense of security for others.
Liz Hahn, 33, said the outdoors is actually where she feels the most safe. “In general, I have found that the male hiker community is actually really respectful and welcoming,” Hahn said. Safety in the outdoors is backed by statistics. According to Backpacker Magazine, the risk of being a victim to violent crime is much lower in national parks than in the country as a whole. Public lands are “overwhelmingly safer places than the rest of the country,” according to the magazine’s survey. Still, the fear is not irrational because of the overwhelmingly high number of women who are victims of rape in the United States. Women are raised to take precautions to avoid situations when they are alone in vulnerable spaces, such as the outdoors. “Often as a woman, there’s a lot of fear around the fact that if we go out by ourselves we’ll be kidnapped and harassed,” Cooley said. “In some cases, that may be true. But like 99.9% of the time, it doesn’t happen.” |
IN GENERAL, I HAVE FOUND THAT THE MALE HIKER COMMUNITY IS ACTUALLY REALLY RESPECTFUL AND WELCOMING." |
PRECUATIONS
IT'S ABOUT RAISING BOYS TO BE ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEIR ACTIONS. THEY CAN'T USE THE 'BOYS WILL BE BOYS' THING, THAT'S JUST NOT AN EXCUSE ANYMORE." |
Many women who spend time outdoors have developed specific precautions that they take either when hiking alone or with fellow women.
Hahn said one of her main precautions is what she calls “defensive camping.” She puts the entry flap of her tent against a rock or a tree, which makes her feel more secure when she camps alone. She also makes a point to talk to pretty much everybody she comes across on the trail. “[Talking to everybody] is not only a great way to get trail reports for what’s coming, but I also do that because it means somebody has seen my face and somebody has learned my name,” Hahn said. Malak Ghazal, 23, carries bear spray, which, she said, gives her a sense of security when it comes to both wildlife and other hikers. “If I ever find myself in a situation where I’m about to be assaulted, I have bear spray so I’m going to be fine,” Ghazal said. Talley typically has a spray can of mace clipped to her backpack. However, her true weapon, she said, is her “gift of gab.” “I am quick with a story,” Talley said. “I’ll skew the truth a little bit, talk about friends that aren’t there that are waiting for me around the corner.” While women take extra safety precautions in the outdoors, it is ultimately the responsibility of the outdoor community to ensure inclusivity when it comes to feeling safe in outdoor spaces. “It’s about raising boys to be accountable for their actions,” Tupy said. “They can’t use the ‘boys will be boys’ thing, that’s just not an excuse anymore.” |