The Queer & Trans Field Safety Assessment: a tool for protecting minoritized field scientists

This is a Preprint and has not been peer reviewed. This is version 1 of this Preprint. You must log in to post a comment. There are no comments or no comments have been made public for this article. This is a Preprint and has not been peer reviewed. This is version 1 of this Preprint. Add a Comment You must log in to post a comment. Comments There are no comments or no comments have been made public for this article. Ecological fieldwork poses heightened risks for LGBTQIA+ scientists due to inadequate safety protocols and identity-based vulnerabilities. Best practices to improve safety for queer field researchers exist, yet over 50% of LGBTQIA+ field scientists report feeling unsupported, with structural and cultural barriers unaddressed. Our team of 15 researchers from the University of California developed the Queer and Trans Field Safety Assessment: an example-based tool designed to support inclusive field environments. Drawing from best practices in field safety literature, the assessment offers a structured checklist that addresses safety needs before, during, and after fieldwork across four key categories: climate, protocols, training, and accessibility. This paper outlines the assessment’s development and intended applications for field teams, field courses, field stations, and research labs. By offering a concrete tool, we hope to bridge the gap between recommendations and implementation in field safety and promote the inclusion and well-being of queer and trans field researchers. https://doi.org/10.32942/X2W360 Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Life Sciences LGBTQIA+, fieldwork, Ecology, safety, queer, trans Published: 2025-11-11 23:44 Last Updated: 2025-11-11 23:44 Conflict of interest statement: None Data and Code Availability Statement: All data and code used in this study are publicly available and archived in Zenodo (DOI 10.5281/zenodo.17531742) and are publicly available on GitHub (https://github.com/rsteinitz/qtifs). This complies with ESA’s Open Research Policy. Language: English