‘Below Deck Down Under’ producers stepped in to stop a sexual assault

This season of Bravo’s Below Deck Down Under follows the crew of The Northern Sun through the waters of Cairns, Australia.

Mark Rogers/Bravo

On Monday night’s double episode of Bravo’s Below Deck Down Under, viewers saw show producers intervening to prevent a sexual assault by one crew member (a man) on another. After the offender was fired, another crew member (a woman) who had been repeatedly refusing to hear “no” from the guy she was interested in, and who had been touching him repeatedly after he asked her not to, was shown the door as well.

It was a jarring look for a franchise that has frequently reveled in what’s sometimes been abusive behavior by very drunk people for a total of 24 seasons — 10 of original Below Deck, seven of Below Deck Mediterranean, four of Below Deck Sailing Yacht, one of Below Deck Adventure, and two of Below Deck Down Under.

To set the scene, in the world of these shows, you have the interior crew — usually, but not always, women — who serve guests meals and drinks, clean cabins, do laundry, and run the entertainment. The exterior crew (led by the bosun) — usually, but not always, men — clean the boat, handle docking and run the tender (the little auxiliary boat), manage all the jet skis and giant inflatables and other things that are set out for rich people to use, and set up and break down everything on the outside for guests. There’s also a chef. As for the guests, they’re rich enough to charter the yacht, but not so rich that they have a yacht of their own.

The rhythm of the show is that after a…