Southeastern Archaeological Conference - Sexual Harassment Prevention

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Southeastern Archaeological Conference

Sexual Harassment Prevention

2026 SEAC SAFE OFFICER PROGRAM

The SEAC Sexual Harassment and Assault Response and Prevention (SHARP) Committee

continues the SEAC Safe Officer program for the 2026 meetings in Birmingham. Any SEAC

participant who has been subjected to sexual harassment, assault, discrimination, or other

unwanted behaviors can report these behaviors to our on-site volunteers. SEAC Safe

Officers will be available at the Safe Officer desk during registration hours, as well as at all

SEAC-sponsored evening events and on-call 24 hours a day throughout the meetings. SEAC

Safe Officers will be wearing red T-shirts.

The 2026 SEAC Safe Officers:

Shawn Lambert (sl2042@msstate.edu)

Carol Colaninno (ccolaninno@gmail.com)

Kirsten Nafziger ( kjn5423@psu.edu)

Karla Oesch (kmoesch86@gmail.com)

Lindsay Bloch (lbloch@ufl.edu)

Brian Cavanaugh (bcavanaugh@newsouthassoc.com)

Laura Fuentes (lauraf@flateartharcheology.com)

Robbie Ethridge (rethridg@olemiss.edu)

The role of the SEAC Safe Officers is outlined in the preceding SEAC Annual Meeting Code

of Conduct. If you would like to make a report, please contact any of these officers, speak with

an officer on duty at the Safe Officer desk, or for 24-hour reporting, call or text Shawn Lambert

at 405-905-9511 or Carol Colaninno at 912-481-3817. For more information go to SHARP’s

webpage.

SEAC 2026 Emergency Contacts for the Birmingham Area

In case of emergency, call 911

Police Station

Birmingham Police Department Non-emergency phone number (205) 254-1700

This location is a few blocks from the host hotel.

Birmingham Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Hotlines and Support Services

1. Crisis Center, Inc. (Sexual Assault Support Services)

Address: 3620 8th Ave South, Suite 110, Birmingham, AL 35222
24-Hour Response Hotline: (205) 323-7273
Crisis & Suicide Line (24/7): (205) 323-7777
Business line: (205) 323-7782

2. One Place Metro Alabama Family Justice Center

Address: 3613 6th Avenue South, Birmingham, AL 35222
Phone: (205) 453-7261
A collaborative center where survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault can meet

with law enforcement, prosecutors, civil legal aid, and advocates all under one roof.

3. YWCA Central Alabama — Domestic Violence Services

Address: 309 23rd Street North, Birmingham, AL 35203
24-Hour Domestic Violence Crisis Line: (205) 322-4878 (HURT)
General office line: (205) 322-9922
Statewide Alabama Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-650-6522

Birmingham Hospital Emergency Room Services

1. UAB Hospital Emergency Department

Address: 619 South 19th Street, Birmingham, AL 35233
Phone: (205) 934-4011
Alabama's only Level I Adult Trauma Center, open 24/7.

2. UAB St. Vincent's Birmingham Emergency Room

Address: 810 St Vincent's Drive, Birmingham, AL 35205
Phone: (205) 939-7000
409-bed acute care hospital, open 24/7.

3. Children's of Alabama Emergency Department

Address: 1601 5th Avenue South, Benjamin Russell Building, Birmingham, AL 35233
Phone: (205) 638-9174
Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center for infants, children, and teens, open 24/7.\

Birmingham Urgent Care Clinics

UAB Medicine Urgent Care

Address: 125 20th Street South, Suite 103, Birmingham, AL 35233
Phone: (205) 801-5251
Walk-in care for non-life-threatening illness or injury. Hours: Mon–Fri 7 AM–7 PM, Sat

8 AM–3 PM.

LGBTQIA+ Resources

1. Magic City Acceptance Center (MCAC)

Address: 3130 3rd Avenue South, Birmingham, AL 35233

Phone: (447) 200-5739
A program of Birmingham AIDS Outreach offering free, affirming social and support

programming for LGBTQ+ youth, young adults, and their allies that also includes
counseling, after-school activities, and community events. Open Mon, Tue, Thu 9 AM–6
PM; Wed 10 AM–7 PM (by appointment/program).

2. Birmingham AIDS Outreach (BAO)

Address: 205 32nd Street South, Birmingham, AL 35233
Phone: (205) 322-4197
Alabama's first AIDS service organization, providing free HIV/AIDS support services,

HIV/STI testing, prevention education, and case management for the LGBTQ+
community. Hours: Mon, Tue, Thu 9 AM–6 PM; Wed 10 AM–6 PM; Fri 9 AM–1 PM.

3. YWCA Central Alabama — Domestic Violence Services (LGBTQ-inclusive)

Address: 309 23rd Street North, Birmingham, AL 35203
24-Hour Crisis Line: (205) 322-4878 (HURT)
Provides domestic violence support, advocacy, and shelter referrals regardless of sexual

orientation or gender identity.

4. T.A.K.E. (Transgender Advocates Knowledgeable Empowering)

Address: 7128 Oporto Madrid Blvd, Birmingham, AL 35206
Phone: (205) 848-5849
A nonprofit uplifting trans people of color through direct support, advocacy, workforce

development, housing assistance, and healthcare access.

5. The Trevor Project

(LGBTQ youth crisis support, 24/7): 1-866-488-7386, or text START to 678-678.

According to SEAC policy, sexual harassment and assault are classified as scientific misconduct because such conduct causes harm to, interferes with, or sabotages scientific activity and careers. Sexual harassment and assault creates a hostile environment that reduces the quality, integrity, and pace of the advancement of science by marginalizing individuals and communities. It also damages productivity and career advancement, and prevents the healthy exchange of ideas (adapted from the American Geophysical Union).

Archaeologists’ learning and work environments are the context not only for the many duties of professionals in our field but also for cultivating confident and effective future generations of archaeologists. Today, archaeologists have many roles: instructional staff and students in classroom, lab, and field settings; curatorial staff in non-profit and government museums; cultural heritage managers and educators in governmental, tribal, and public utility settings; supervisors and employees in private cultural resource/heritage management firms; and participants in professional meetings and conferences. All of these contexts bring practitioners into contact with members of an increasingly diverse population of students, employees, and colleagues.

The Southeastern Archaeological Conference places high value on assuring that educational and work experiences in archaeology are optimal for all to develop and practice relevant skills and knowledge. Sexual harassment and assault, and any form of intimidation based upon sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, ethnicity, disability, national origin, religion, or marital status has been legally recognized as having a chilling effect on learning and workplace experiences, not only for the targets of such behavior but also for others witnessing it. SEAC will not tolerate such behavior.

If You Have Been Sexually Harassed or Assaulted

SEAC has taken steps to actively promote awareness of the issue of sexual harassment and assault and to help educate and move the membership toward a healthier environment in regard to the prevention of sexual harassment and sexual assault of its members.

To report a sexual harassment complaint that occurred at any SEAC-related event, please consult the SEAC Process for Reporting, Investigating, and Adjudicating Sexual Harassment Complaints. Please note that SEAC does not adjudicate incidents of sexual assault which is a criminal act and should be reported to law enforcement. However, the SHARP Committee stands ready to aid complainants who wish to report incidents of sexual assault.

In addition, SEAC has established a resource guide with the appropriate offices in university, state, and federal agencies to whom one can report a violation. Please keep track of our progress in meeting these goals on this website.

SHARP Coordinator Executive Board Position

The Task Force is pleased to announce that the members of SEAC, in the fall of 2020, voted to implement a permanent Executive Committee position of a Sexual Harassment and Assault Response and Prevention (SHARP) Coordinator. The SHARP Coordinator will be responsible for coordinating and implementing all SEAC initiatives, actions, or oversight deemed appropriate by the Executive Committee regarding the prevention, mitigation, and response to sexual harassment and assault. To assist in this difficult work, the Executive Committee will also appoint a SHARP standing committee, chaired by the SHARP Coordinator. This initiative required a change in SEAC Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws; you can view the changes in Appendix A of the 2020 SEAC Task Force Report.

The SHARP Coordinator is an elected, two-year position. Contact information for the SHARP committee members is below.

SEAC Policy Statement on Sexual Harassment and Assault

For the full text of the SEAC Policy Statement on Sexual Harassment and Assault, please see this link.

2025 Upcoming SEAC SHARP-sponsored events

SEAC Meetings Code of Conduct

No participant or attendee at SEAC events should be subjected to sexual harassment or sexual assault. If you are subjected to harassment or assault at a SEAC event, please contact a SEAC Safe Officer or a voting officer of SEAC. All conference attendees will be required to agree to abide by the Meetings Code of Conduct in order to register.

SEAC Safe Officer Program

The SEAC Safe Officer Program for 2025 is being planned. For information on the 2026 SEAC Safe Officer program, please see this document.

Safe and Inclusive Field Schools—NSF-funded Project

The SEAC Task Force is working with Dr. Carole Colaninno and her colleagues, Emily L. Beahm, Carl G. Drexler, and Shawn P. Lambert, to disseminate the goals and information regarding a three-year, NSF-funded project, “Evidence-based Transformation of Undergraduate Field Schools to Promote Inclusivity and Diversity.” The investigators have completed data collection and are in the process of analysis. See below for prior project publications and presentations. Final publications and outcomes will be posted soon.

Colaninno, et al., “Creating and Supporting a Harassment- and Assault-Free Field School.” Advances in Archaeological Practice 8(2): 111–122, 2020. Link to paper.

Colaninno, et al., “Preventing and Reducing Occurrences of Sexual Harassment and Assault at Archaeological Field Schools.” Paper presented at the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine Action Collaborative on Preventing Sexual Harassment in High Education, October 19, 2020, online format. Link to paper; link to associated PowerPoint.

SEAC 2014 Sexual Harassment Survey

SEAC 2014 Sexual Harassment poster Meyers et al This initial presentation of results of a survey about sexual harassment and assault demonstrates the prevalence of those problems and led to the formation of SEAC’s Taskforce on Sexual Harassment and Assault.

2018 The Context and Consequences of Sexual Harassment in Southeastern Archaeology Advances in Archaeological Practice article by Meyers et al interprets the facts that 66% of archaeologists reported harassment and 13% reported assault. The authors also discuss changes over time, correlations between particular factors, effects on careers, and efforts at mitigation.

Unformatted Survey Data Question/Response

Formatted Survey Data Question/Response

Resources for Mitigating and Preventing Sexual Harassment and Assault

For immediate help, call 911, local police can accompany you to a local hospital or health center. There is no time limit on making a police report and filing a report does not mean you have to press a criminal case.

Employees at your school or work place are generally required to report conversations if you tell them you have experienced harassment or assault. Reporting to the Dean of Students or Title 9 Compliance & Equity Officer at your university means you will be protected from retaliation.

If you wish to have an anonymous conversation rather than make a report, each state has a sexual assault hotline and the National Sexual Assault Hotline 1-800-656-HOPE will connect you with a local resource. You may also try 877-739-3895 for the National Sexual Violence Resource Center. Universities often offer free counseling or other places to anonymously discuss sexual assault and harassment. We are here to listen as well.

SEAC Resource Guide for Sexual Harassment and Violence
SEAC Suggested Code of Conduct for Field Schools and Field Projects
SEAC Suggested Agreement Form for Fieldwork Code of Conduct
SEAC Brochure on Sexual Harassment and Assault
SEAC Training Module on Sexual Harassment and Assault