New investigation and a thread #MeTooSTEM #MeTooAcademia https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/300018873/transtasman-universities-at-war-over-top-scholars-sexual-stalking

In the months I've spent on this story I've wondered why there have been relatively few #MeToo stories from academia worldwide

Talking to experts here and overseas, I learned how researchers become senior researchers, then associate professors, then professors etc. There's an A,B,C,D,E level-based progression that requires you to foster and maintain relationships, often internationally, to move up

Everything you do requires letters of recommendation or references. Funding grants depend on them.

Publishing depends on peer reviews from senior people in your area of study

One professor told me "There's so many ways a person's career could be harmed if they get offside with a powerful person." For example, if a letter of recommendation is even slightly lukewarm, it could be harmful

And there are so few jobs - if you've dedicated your life and career to a path of study, you're vulnerable. Academia is one of the starkest power-structure dynamics I've seen in 2 and half years of this reporting.

"They don't come to light because the person (who alleges harassment) obviously stands to lose a lot."