"Wiping Sweat on My Chest During Surgery"... 63% of British Female Doctors Experienced Sexual Harassment

Report Published in British Journal of Surgery
"30% Were Sexually Assaulted by Colleagues"

On the 12th, the British BBC reported that many male doctors sexually harass female doctors during surgeries.

BBC cited a recent report from the UK's National Health Service (NHS). It stated that some even go beyond sexual harassment during surgery to commit sexual assault, seriously violating the human rights of female doctors.

Photo by Pixabay

The report is based on a survey of 1,434 surgeons (738 women and 696 men). According to the survey, 63% of female doctors said they had been sexually harassed by colleagues in the past five years, and 30% responded that they had been sexually assaulted by colleagues. There were at least 11 reported cases of rape.

In particular, 0.8% of female surgeons reported having been raped at least once in the workplace or other work environments in the past five years. 89.5% of female surgeons witnessed sexual harassment or sexual assault.

The report revealed that sexual harassment, sexual assault, and even rape of female doctors are an open secret in operating rooms.

Female doctor A said, "A senior male doctor once buried his head in my chest under the pretext of wiping sweat. I offered to bring a towel, but he just said, 'This is much more fun.' It was truly humiliating."

The silence of colleagues pushed victims into deeper despair. A said, "The perpetrator was not the highest-ranking person in the operating room. But he knew very well that such behavior was tolerated. It was truly shameless."

Another female doctor, B, said, "A male senior whom I usually respected once accompanied me home. After entering my house together, he suddenly changed and made physical advances. I was frozen and unable to stop him." She explained, "The next day, when I met him, I could barely hold myself together. I couldn't make a fuss. There is a very strong culture of just enduring no matter what." The sexual violence by male doctors has extended beyond the operating room to outside the hospital.

The UK Department of Health and Social Care announced it would investigate these issues. Steve Brine, chair of the Department of Health and Social Care, told the BBC it was a "shocking revelation."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.