Booze on ice in bid to stop assaults in Antarctica

US government scientists stationed at a base in Antarctica have been banned from buying alcohol in bars as part of a clampdown on alleged sexual assaults.

From tomorrow, bars at the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) McMurdo Station, where temperatures can plummet to minus 50C, will only serve non-alcoholic drinks.

However, staff will retain their alcohol ration allowing them to buy the equivalent of 18 beers, three bottles of wine, or a 750ml bottle of spirits each week.

One alleged victim of sexual assault at the base said the move “isn’t going to do a damn thing”, arguing that the station’s culture needed to change.

Several women have made damaging claims about the behaviour of colleagues at the site, which they say were subsequently downplayed by their bosses.

One woman, who said she was sexually assaulted, was sacked two months later, while an alleged rape victim said her complaint was downgraded to harassment.

Since the allegations emerged in an Associated Press investigation last month, the NSF has said it is working to clamp down on sexual misconduct at the base.

Researchers will only be able to order non-alcoholic drinks at McMurdo’s two main bars, Southern Exposure and Gallagher’s. However, they will still be able to bring in alcoholic drinks from the local shop and consume them in the bars.

“We will not rest until we are confident that every member of the Antarctic community feels safe and supported,” NSF chief operating officer Karen Marrongelle said.

Six in 10 women said they had experienced harassment or assault while in Antarctica, according to an NSF report from 2022.