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A survivor’s guide to academic bullying

Nature Human Behaviour volume 4, page 1091 (2020)Cite this article

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To the editor — Early-career researchers, and particularly those who come from under-represented groups in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), are susceptible to bullying. However, they can arm themselves with awareness and be prepared for abusive behaviour on the part of superiors within the academic hierarchy.

I was a target of academic bullying, but I am also a survivor. After I started writing on academic bullying1,2 and established a non-profit organization to increase awareness among stakeholders (https://paritymovement.org/), I was overwhelmed with email correspondence and phone calls from others who had been targeted or who had observed this phenomenon. Based on this correspondence and my own experience, I learned some key lessons that targets of academic bullying can employ to protect themselves and fight back.

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References

  1. Mahmoudi, M. Nature 562, 494 (2018).

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  2. Mahmoudi, M. Lancet 394, 1410 (2019).

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  1. Department of Radiology and Precision Health Program, Michigan State University, Michigan, MI, USA

    Morteza Mahmoudi

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  1. Morteza Mahmoudi
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Correspondence to Morteza Mahmoudi.

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M.M. is co-founder and director of Academic Parity Movement, a non-profit organization dedicated to addressing academic discrimination, violence and bullying.

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Mahmoudi, M. A survivor’s guide to academic bullying. Nat Hum Behav 4, 1091 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-020-00937-1

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