Women who worked on the river in Grand Canyon National Park endured a long-term pattern of sexual misconduct, sexual harassment and a hostile work environment, according to a federal watchdog investigation.
A Department of the Interior Inspector General report issued Tuesday shows that 35 women saw or experienced sexual misconduct or harassment in the Grand Canyon National Park’s River District. Most of the reported incidents came on trips down the Colorado River that were done for scientific, educational or maintenance purposes.
According to the report, 13 National Park Service employees had reported a sexually hostile work environment to Secretary of Interior Sally Jewell in February 2014, sparking the investigation. The investigation uncovered 22 other women who said they experienced or witnessed sexual misconduct or harassment.
The inspector general report indicated not enough was done to stop the inappropriate behavior of four employees who were the main perpetrators.
“We also confirmed that some of the incidents were reported to [park] supervisors and managers but were not properly investigated or reported,” the report stated. “… This violated [Department of Interior] policies requiring managers and supervisors to promptly report such complaints.”
The complaints stretch out over 15 years and focus mainly on river trips. The trips have a “history of reported incidents of sexual harassment and hostile work environments,” according to the report.
The incidents concern three “boatmen,” as the men who operated the boats that took National Park employees onto the river were called. The report indicated the boatmen would have the attitude of trying to have as much sex as possible on the trips, of which there were about 12 per year.
Several of the women interviewed for the investigation reported being touched inappropriately by three of the boatmen, repeatedly being propositioned for sex, and one woman reported one of the boatmen taking a picture underneath her dress.
If the women resisted the advances from the three boatmen, and one supervisor who was also referred to in the report, they saw some sort of retaliation, the report stated.
Among them would be the boatmen taking them to the wrong place on the river or outright refusing to take them anywhere, causing them to fail to accomplish their tasks. One of the boatmen even withheld food from some women who refused his sexual advances.
“Eight of the 19 employees added that the men would behave in a hostile manner if their advances toward women were rejected or if women reported sexual harassment,” the report stated.
Three boatmen and one supervisor were all accused of the sexually inappropriate behavior. Two of them and the supervisor were punished with suspensions, but one boatman who currently works on the river was not. He and the supervisor denied all of the allegations against them.
The boatman still employed by the National Park Service was accused of taking advantage of a woman who had gotten too drunk and fell asleep on a trip, the report stated.
“[The witness] said that the woman, whom she declined to identify, became intoxicated in camp one night and fell asleep,” the report stated. “Later in the evening, [the witness] observed [the boatman] lying next to the woman, who was still asleep. When [the witness] asked him what he was doing, she said, he stood up, buckled his pants, and walked away.”
The report indicates there was a culture of “what happens on the river stays on the river” among National Park Service employees.
While some officials tried to change the culture of the river trips, misconduct continued to occur. That led to some officials taking a laissez-faire attitude toward investigating the reports of sexual misconduct.
“Six women told us that they had reported incidents of sexual harassment and hostile work environment to [park] supervisors and managers, but management did not properly investigate or report their allegations,” the report stated.
The two boatmen who were punished for their behavior eventually resigned from the National Park Service and a supervisor who was accused of grabbing a contractor’s crotch in 2005 has since retired. He was suspended for 10 days for that incident.
In response to the report, Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, called for reforms that would make it easier to remove federal employees who can’t, or won’t, do their jobs.
He said the report was “appalling.”
“This is another appalling example of how the current civil service system allows the wrong people to be insulated and protected. Supervisors and managers are failing in their management responsibilities and they should be removed. The culture of overlooking and even rewarding bad behavior is inexcusable.”
