One in five doctors sexually harassed at work

A new survey has revealed that one in five doctors have been sexually harassed or witnessed it at work, with the majority in an overtly sexual manner.

Medscape’s online survey shows that, alongside acting in an overtly sexual manner (53 per cent), the most common forms of harassment by patients involved asking the doctor out on a date (29 per cent), and trying to touch, grope or rub against them (24 per cent). The survey also showed that perpetrators are usually patients but sometimes they are fellow medics or nurses, according to the survey of 1,378 hospital doctors and GPs across the UK.

Overall, 17 per cent had suffered sexual harassment by a patient and three per cent by someone else in their workplace. A fifth of those surveyed had experienced or seen sexual harassment in the past three years and 24 per cent had witnessed such behaviour.

When the perpetrators were fellow health professionals, the most common incidents involved someone deliberately infringing on their body space (46 per cent), unwanted groping, hugging or physical contact (44 per cent), comments about someone’s body (34 per cent), and being repeatedly asked for a date (32 per cent).

More than half of respondents to Medscape’s survey said they had not reported the harassment.