Nearly 2 in 5 Covid-19 researchers reported they had been harassed since the pandemic began, according to a new survey published [March 24] in Science.
The survey included responses from 510 researchers who have published about Covid-19 and was conducted by the news team of the journal Science.
The survey, which has not gone through a peer review process, found that 38 percent of those researchers had experienced harassment of some kind. Before the pandemic, 71 percent of respondents said they received less harassment or no abuse at all.
Researchers reported personal insults and attacks on their professional capabilities as the most common types of harassment. Other types of abuse — such as threats of harm, physical intimidation and doxxing — were reported more rarely. Eighteen scientists — about 3.5 percent of those surveyed — said they received death threats.
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Scientists with public stances on politicized topics — including those against the use of the drug ivermectin — were more likely to experience harassment, the Science analysis suggested.
Science asked nearly 9,600 researchers for their perspective, and it’s possible the results are skewed by those who chose to respond.
