Dr Becky Cox, a co-founder of Surviving in Scrubs, said: “The stark findings of this investigation should put into sharp focus the work that the health secretary and NHS leaders need to do to ensure the freedom of NHS staff to work without threat of sexual violence from patients and other staff members.
An investigation by The BMJ and the Guardian revealed “shocking” levels of sexual assault and harassment in the NHS, with more than 35,000 cases of rape, sexual assault, harassment, stalking, and abusive remarks recorded between 2017 and 2022. […] With no NHS-wide guidance on how to record incidents, reporting systems varied across trusts so the true scale of the problem is unknown. Campaigners and survivors say victims do not feel able to report and are not always supported when they do. So what can trusts do and how can the problem be better managed?
The treatment of female doctors in particular has come under the spotlight in recent months, as more women speak up. In April, several female surgeons spoke to the Times newspaper about the male-dominated world of surgery and the harassment they faced from colleagues.
Thank you for your article which highlights the continuing endemic issue of sexism and harassment in medicine. For years we have all heard about the MeToo campaign, with professions opening up and telling their stories of gendered abuse and sexism, from the media and film communities right up to our current governing bodies. However medicine and more broadly the healthcare community have been slower to take action.
Women in Surgery chair Tamzin Cuming interviews the founders of the Surviving in Scrubs website and the stories from surgeons about their experiences in the workplace.
Surviving in Scrubs co-founder Chelcie Jewitt speaks alongside Simon Fleming to Rona Dougall.
In the UK, in response to the #MeToo movement, multiple industries have been opening up and discussing sexism and sexual abuse. In recent years attention has been drawn to the film, legal, charitable, and government sectors as employees have disclosed their experiences.
Reading the article requires a paid subscription.
It took a few years working as a doctor before I realised there was something very wrong with how I and other female colleagues were being treated by the men working alongside us.
