Ethics & safety statement

Unspoken exists to provide people working at sea with a safe space to share their experiences of unwanted sexual behaviour in their own words.

By choosing to share, you help bring visibility to experiences that are often hidden. That visibility supports safer and more respectful working environments at sea. Thank you.

Our commitment

We recognise that sharing can be difficult. This platform is designed with care, transparency, and safety in mind. For more detailed information, please see the Privacy statement.

What this space is, and what it is not

Unspoken is a place to share and document lived experiences.

It is not a reporting tool, whistleblower, or emergency helpline. We do not investigate stories or verify individual accounts.

Stories are collected and reviewed to raise understanding about patterns and systemic challenges of sexual misconduct at sea, not to examine or judge individuals or companies.


Your choices

  • You decide what to share and what to leave out (but please do not include names, dates, or any other identifying details)

  • You may stop at any time

  • There is no “right” or “wrong” way to tell your story


All responses are optional, except for the main description of your experience (the ‘free-text content’) and a question on whether the situation was reported and whether there is any formal legal process ongoing around it. The optional questions use simple selection options, so you can answer quickly or skip anything you prefer not to share.


How stories are handled

Stories are reviewed by the Unspoken team to ensure anonymisation before being used for analysis.

Identifying details are removed to protect privacy, confidentiality and safety, and to ensure the aim of sharing stories remains focused on raising awareness, understanding and improving systems to prevent and respond to sexual misconduct at sea, rather than examining individual cases.

When consent has been given (freely, informed, specific, and unambiguous), anonymised stories may be shared publicly on the platform to raise awareness and understanding about sexual misconduct at sea. No personal identifiable information or other identifying details are published.


Why we collect stories

Stories are analysed to enhance our collective understanding of patterns of sexual misconduct at sea and where prevention and response systems are not working as they should.

These insights will inform the development of a global framework focused on:

  • prevention

  • safe reporting pathways

  • appropriate organisational responses


The goal is systemic improvement of safety, prevention against, and response to sexual misconduct at sea across the maritime sector.


Support

If sharing or reading stories brings up difficult feelings, independent support services are available through our support page.

We encourage you to reach out to the organisations listed if you need confidential or immediate assistance.