Guardian Australia has spoken with several women who say they had bad experiences after meeting skippers on sailing websites, with allegations that include sexual assault.Guardian Australia has spoken with several women who say they had bad experiences after meeting skippers on sailing websites, with allegations that include sexual assault.Last modified on Sun 22 Jan 2023 14.02 GMT
But on her first night on board, she quickly became uncomfortable when the skipper seemed too eager to refill her wine glass. Both Crewbay and the Australian-based Find A Crew boast of having extensive global networks of crews and captains, allowing experienced and amateur sailors to be matched with boats around the world. On-site testimonials recount glorious adventures and the joys of finding new lifelong friends.
Out at sea days later, Naylor got drunk and screamed at her in front of other crew members, threatening to drop her off at the nearest land – whether it was inhabited or not. “In the end, he said he will let me go if I lie next to him for 15 minutes,” she says. “He started touching my body … and groped my breasts, my stomach, then my hips, my butt.”
“When he drove me with his little boat to the land, right when he left me I started to cry,” she says. Prof Nicolas Suzor is a researcher at the Queensland University of Technology and an expert in the governance of the digital world. He says it is vital that platforms are designed to minimise risks, with honest review systems, robust complaints processes and mechanisms in place to verify people’s identities.Photograph: Roger Bamber/Alamy
“When we find out about people who have committed physical or sexual abuse then we blacklist them,” Wells tells Guardian Australia.“If we introduced a global criminal record check on all users before they were allowed to use the site then it would impose a large cost to sign up.” Jessica Hunt* had a captain get drunk and threaten to hurt her after accusing her of stealing his things.
Wells said Crewbay “never block a negative review unless it violates the site terms of agreement, which includes defamatory, inaccurate and abusive language”. “We’re aware that our system isn’t perfect and has many of the same pitfalls as the legal process, namely these cases often come down to one person’s word against another, with no way of proving who is telling the truth,” Wells said.Suzor points out most victims do not report sexual abuse to police, and that it would be even more difficult to do so if they are sailing in international waters, don’t speak the local language or fear repercussions from an abuser living nearby.