A very unfortunate subject that has been brought to our attention recently.
The A.V.P. would like to get involved with the Support and Prevention Group following sexual assaults by captains on female crewmembers in "boat hops".

Following several assaults, some of which occurred in FP, several girls/women started to talk about this serious problem on the facebook groups/websites where they had been linked to the captains in question, in order to alert other female crew members in search of the existence of the phenomenon.

Due to a very violent reaction on one of the facebook groups in question (the posts in question were vilified, the women virtually lynched and the posts deleted by the moderators), there was no choice but to create a group specifically dedicated to this subject.

Since then, about twenty testimonies of different severity (ranging from sexual assault with threats of murder to daily harassment in the middle of a crossing, including landings on isolated islands for girls who "resisted") have been collected, and increased support is offered to victims.

Some have filed complaints, others are not ready. It is important to know that the shame and trauma are so great that most of the time the victims do not talk about it and wish to forget. Official statistics show that only 10% of victims file a complaint. This gives an idea. Since then, the group is growing, as prevention tools and tips are proposed, so that girls/women are better prepared to face these realities.

This Support Group also wishes to draw our attention to the fact that it has several testimonies of aggression and harassment (in both cases) on two captains based in PF.

For your information, here is an article with testimonies that are clearly chilling :

Bait and Catch: For Dozens of Young Women Recruited Online, Dreams of Sailing Adventures Turned to Nightmares at Sea.