A new seafarer-led campaign by the International Seafarers’ Welfare and Assistance Network (ISWAN) highlights the role of allyship in creating safe and inclusive environments on board.

ISWAN is launching its global campaign: ‘Safe at sea…it takes all of us!’, focusing on the role that men seafarers can take as allies in support of women colleagues.

In 2023, women were more than three times as likely to contact ISWAN’s helplines about an issue of abuse, bullying, harassment, discrimination and violence than men. They were also more than twice as likely to raise a mental health issue.

‘Through our helplines SeafarerHelp and YachtCrewHelp, and our networks across the international maritime sector, we hear first-hand about the challenges of being a woman seafarer,’ said ISWAN’s Projects and Relationships Manager and Campaign Lead Georgia Allen.

‘Although there is a significant focus across maritime to encourage more women seafarers to enter the workforce, which is really positive, as a welfare organisation we also want to highlight the sector’s responsibility for ensuring the environments they are being invited into are safe and that they will be treated equitably. Rather than putting the responsibility on women themselves to advocate for their fair and inclusive treatment, we felt that opening up a discussion about the benefits of allyship and collective responsibility was a more positive and hopefully effective approach to encouraging widespread awareness of these issues and long-term behavioural change. Let’s create onboard environments where all are safe and all can thrive.’

ISWAN, with support from co-funders The Seafarers’ Charity and UK P&I Club, will be rolling out the campaign online, at sea and ashore in industry hubs around the world over the coming months. The campaign can be followed on social media using the hashtags #CrewAllySHIP and #WeAllBelong.

Behind the scenes, ISWAN has spoken with seafarers and maritime stakeholders around the world and from across the shipping, cruise and superyacht industries to build the campaign and capture seafarers’ lived experiences. Many women seafarers shared the challenges that they had faced at sea and the impact on their health and wellbeing:

‘I would try to hide my gender, to wear men’s clothes and avoid clothes that were too fitted on my body. That was my way of trying to avoid abuse and unwanted attention.’

‘I have faced racism, misogyny, harassment, and threats more times than I can count, from both superiors and colleagues. While I often managed to counteract these behaviours, it was exhausting and soul-draining to always remain vigilant and alert when my primary focus should have been on my work.’

The campaign also foregrounds seafarers’ experiences of good allyship and gives practical examples of what men seafarers can do to make life at sea safer for all:

‘A first officer I worked with built trust by being observant and curious. He created a safe environment for the female crew to talk to him about any onboard issues.’

Allen continued: ‘It is very important to ISWAN that all of our work is centred around the real voices and experiences of seafarers themselves, and that we consult seafarers on what they feel is actually needed, rather than making decisions on their behalf. The result is a campaign that has the global voices of seafarers at its heart.

‘We hope the campaign will have a noticeable impact and will represent the start of a much longer-term movement and commitment from across the sector to make seafaring truly safe and inclusive for all.’

Find out more about the ‘Safe at sea…it takes all of us!’ campaign and how to get involved on ISWAN’s website here. The campaign page features ISWAN’s campaign video (‘Be that seafarer – Be an ally’) and a list of international support services for seafarers. ISWAN will also soon release two resources (one for seafarers and one for maritime sector stakeholders) containing information and guidance on how to build a safe and inclusive culture at sea. Sign up to the campaign mailing list for updates here.