Reporting Maritime Harassment, Sexual Harassment, & Assault Aboard U.S. Flag Vessels
How to Report:
If you are at sea in an immediate crisis or emergency and have telephone access, call the U.S. Coast Guard’s 24/7 manned National Command Center (NCC) hotline at +1 (202)-372-2100. Additionally, you can always use this telephone number to make reports to the Coast Guard.
If you are on shore leave or near land and are the victim of a sex crime, or are in immediate danger, call emergency services (9-1-1 in the Americas; 1-1-2 in Europe and parts of Asia; other national emergency telephone numbers can be found here.
You may submit anonymous or non-anonymous tips or reports of maritime harassment, sexual harassment, or sexual assault directly to the Coast Guard Investigative Service (CGIS) via the CGIS P3Tips WebForm.
You may email reports of maritime harassment, sexual harassment, or sexual assault to CGISTIPS@uscg.mil.
You may download the CGIS Tips app from the iOS App Store or the Android App Store and use the CGIS Tips app to submit anonymous or non-anonymous tips or reports of maritime harassment, sexual harassment, or sexual assault directly to the CGIS.
You should also report all maritime harassment, sexual harassment, or sexual assault to your employer via your company’s reporting policy. This could include reporting to your company’s Designated Person Ashore (DPA). However, you should also report directly to the U.S. Coast Guard. Don’t ever trust your company, union, school or anyone in your chain of command to do the right thing. These matters are rarely handled properly, ethically, or in accordance with the law.
Make a written record of all relevant events using as much detail as possible. Include dates, times, locations, and names of individuals involved. Tell others about what you’re going through or went through, preferably using email, text, or other electronic record of the communication. Recording details of what you are enduring or have endured aboard a vessel is critical to any investigation and to helping you obtain justice. Writing your story out can also help you process what you’ve been through.
Professional Legal Assistance
If you have experienced maritime harassment, sexual harassment, or sexual assault and wish to see justice served, obtaining your own legal counsel is critically important. Without counsel experienced in assisting victims and survivors with navigating the criminal, administrative, civil, and employment issues surrounding the reporting of maritime sexual misconduct, you will be at the mercy of a complex web of legal systems and institutional forces whose interests are aligned against you. The current power structure is not victim friendly and does not respect victims’ rights.
If you have been sexually harassed or assaulted at sea and are interested in pursuing civil claims against those responsible for allowing you to be abused, attorneys will often work with you on a “contingency fee” basis, which means that you do not have to pay any money to the attorney up front, and any fee is taken out of any later judgement or recovery. But time is always of the essence. Statutes of limitations for Coast Guard Suspension & Revocation actions against perpetrators can be as short as 3 years. Statutes of limitations for Sexual harassment and discrimination claims can be as short as 180 days from when you signed off the vessel or when you last experienced harassment. You must act as quickly as possible.
FindLegalHelp.org
Findlegalhelp.org is provided as a public service by the American Bar Association's and includes a public-service oriented referral services to help you find the right lawyer.
Maritime Legal Solutions, PLLC
J. Ryan Melogy, Maritime Attorney
Ryan is a maritime sexual harassment and abuse attorney who only represents mariners and other victims and survivors of the maritime industry. Ryan represents MLAA in ongoing litigation against the U.S. Coast Guard, and in recent years, Ryan has been involved in the most high profile and precedent-setting Civil, Criminal, and Coast Guard Suspension & Revocation actions affecting survivors of maritime sexual abuse, including his continuing representation of Midshipman-X in her brave pursuit of justice. Ryan frequently assists victims and survivors with reporting harassment and assaults to the U.S. Coast Guard, CGIS & FBI and offers 100% free and confidential consultations for anyone who wants to understand all of their legal options.
Contact Ryan by emailing Help@JusticeForMariners.com, or text: +1 (347) 562-9119
www.JusticeForMariners.com
Survivors Speak
MLAA began as a whistleblower platform for victims and survivors of maritime abuse and harassment, allowing these courageous men and women to share their stories anonymously in order to help bring awareness to this horrible problem plaguing the maritime industry. Through building awareness, these brave individuals have helped to bring about —> Change.
Since June of 2020 MLAA has published the stories of more than 60 survivors of maritime sexual abuse on the Survivors Speak section of our website and on our Instagram, including publishing Midshipman-X’s now-famous blog post that set off a tidal wave of change in the industry. If you have endured abuse or harassment at sea or at a maritime academy, reading the stories of these survivors may help you. If you are interested in potentially publishing your story anonymously on our website to help others and to create change, you can learn more as well as get in touch with us via our Contact Page.
Counseling and Therapy
RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network)
The largest sexual assault network in the United States with a wealth of resources for survivors.