Diving's harassment reckoning reaches operator vetting
Women working in the diving industry are going public about harassment. Campaigners are now demanding better reporting systems, formal safeguarding standards and stronger vetting of staff.
For advisors, the commercial exposure sits with liveaboards, dive-based adventure itineraries and expedition cruises with dive programs. These are closed environments where guests and crew live together and few people can leave. A client who has a bad experience, or a story that attaches to an operator you recommended, reflects on the advisor as well as the supplier.
The reporting is early and no standard has been set. Until one is, the practical step is to ask. Before booking, ask operators whether they have a written safeguarding policy, how guests and crew can report a concern, and how staff are vetted. Record the answers in the file alongside the rest of your duty-of-care notes. Operators who answer clearly are easier to defend, and the ones who can't are worth flagging.
- Ask whether a written safeguarding policy exists and who owns it
- Ask how guests and crew report concerns, and what happens next
- Ask how dive staff and crew are vetted before hire