Majority of nurses experience sexual harassment at work

A new poll of more than 2,000 nursing staff and students has found that three in five nurses have experienced sexual harassment at work.

Carried out by UNISON and Nursing Times, the survey shows that ​incidents ​of sexual harassment are almost commonplace, with staff targeted by patients, family and friends of those in their care, and their own health colleagues.

Of those who had been harassed, only 27 per cent had reported it to their employer. ​Others said they didn’t believe the issue ​was taken seriously and a third (35 per cent) said not enough was being done to protect them from incidents in the workplace.

The most common harassment was verbal and encountered by more than half of all who took part in the survey, including comments about appearance, questions about private lives or inappropriate jokes. Meanwhile, 37 per cent had experienced physical incidents, including being groped by patients during procedures and having their bodies touched by colleagues.

Almost three in five (58 per cent) of those who had been harassed said it was by a patient, a quarter (26 per cent) by medical colleagues, a similar proportion (24 per cent) by other nursing colleagues and almost one in five (19 per cent) had been harassed by family and friends of patients.

Josie Irwin, UNISON national women’s officer, said: “Harassment of any form is simply wrong. Staff working in the NHS must be able to do their jobs without fear of unwanted attention, lewd remarks or being made to feel uncomfortable. Employers must do their utmost to protect nurses against sex pests, regardless of whether the culprit is a patient or colleague. This survey shows there’s still much more to do.”

The survey was carried out in May.