Thanks for all the recent contributions. Gill has given me her
permission to reproduce the letter that she recently received from the
Chair of the RGS-IBG Equal Opportunities Working Group:
Dear Dr Valentine,
I am writing on behalf of the RGS-IBG Equal Opportunities Working
Group to express our collective support for you after we learnt of the
extremely difficult ongoing circumstances of harassment and
intimidation documented in the latest issue of Antipode. At our
meeting of 11 December, we had a lengthy debate, led by Professor
Peter Jackson, as to what we as a Society could and should be doing to
support individuals experiencing all aspects of harassment within the
geographical profession. I shall be alerting the President and
Director to the totally unacceptable abuse that you have received and
I hope that they will write similar letters of support to you.
As a group we also agreed that it is of the utmost importance that we
incorporate issues of harassment fully into our work and that we
establish a greater awareness of such issues within the geographical
community. In addition, we also began to discuss how we might develop
a greater capacity for practical guidance and support for those
experiencing harassment of whatever kind. On this latter point, we
would be very grateful if you might consider attending our next
meeting (scheduled for Wednesday 17 March 1999 at 4.00 p.m.) to help
us in our discussion and formulation of policy here. It would be
extremely valuable for us to learn from your perspective as to what
support or guidance you think would be helpful. We attempt to meet
three or four times a year so if the March date is inconvenient you
would be very welcome to attend at a later date.
I look forward to hearing from you concerning any of the issues raised
in this letter and please let me know if there is anything specific
you would like us to do to support you further.
Yours sincerely,
Dr Iain Black
Chair, Equal Opportunities Working Group (RGS-IBG)
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