UK: report on sexism and sexual violence in the healthcare workforce

Surviving in Scrubs is a campaign in the UK to raise awareness and campaign against sexism, sexual harassment, and sexual assault in the UK healthcare workforce. A recent report analyzes 150 stories submitted to the website detailing colleague-to-colleague incidents.  Here are key findings from the report:

1. The findings evidence systematic and institutional sexism and sexual violence within healthcare in the healthcare workforce.
2. The stories describe the significant power imbalance between powerful senior male staff perpetrating sexual violence to junior female staff members in healthcare, in a normalised culture of sexism, entitlement, and the devaluing of women staff.
3. Perpetrators of sexual violence are described as being well known, acting within a culture of tolerance, while survivors struggle to raise concerns and face enduring impacts on their wellbeing and careers.
4. Institutional sexism leads to survivors describing experiences of maternity and reproductive discrimination, reduced pay and lost training and career opportunities.
5. Aspects of the environment unique to healthcare were reported in the stories with perpetrators using one on one clinical environments, clinical skills training and patient care as settings for sexual assault.
6. The resulting risk to patient care was documented as women healthcare workers reported their clinical judgements questioned, decisions not taken seriously, clinical requests being ignored, and referrals being refused.

Among multiple other recommendations, the report recommends "reform from healthcare regulators to reduce the number of cases dropped before investigation and improved psychological safety measures for witnesses during the investigation and tribunal processes" and mandatory reporting from the employer to the healthcare regulator for cases of sexual harassment and assault.

Read the full report