Female surgeons sexually assaulted by colleagues while operating

[yourhairiswinterfire]

A major analysis of NHS staff has found.

BBC News has spoken to women who were sexually assaulted in the operating theatre while surgery took place.

The study's authors say there is a pattern of female trainees being abused by senior male surgeons, and this is happening now, in NHS hospitals.

The Royal College of Surgeons said the findings were "truly shocking".

Sexual harassment, sexual assault and rape have been referred to as surgery's open secret.
There is an untold story of women being fondled inside their scrubs, of male surgeons wiping their brow on their breasts and men rubbing erections against female staff. Some have been offered career opportunities for sex.
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Nearly two-thirds of women surgeons who responded to the researchers said they had been the target of sexual harassment and a third had been sexually assaulted by colleagues in the past five years.
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Registered surgeons - men and women - were invited to take part completely anonymously and 1,434 responded. Half were women:

• 63% of women had been the target of sexual harassment from colleagues
• 30% of women had been sexually assaulted by a colleague
• 11% of women reported forced physical contact related to career opportunities
• At least 11 incidents of rape were reported
• 90% of women, and 81% of men, had witnessed some form of sexual misconduct

While the report shows men are also subject to some of this behaviour (24% had been sexually harassed), it concludes men and women surgeons are "living different realities".

The pair of reports suggest the relatively lower proportion of women surgeons (around 28%), combined with surgery being deeply hierarchical, gives some men significant power and this combines badly with the high-pressure environment of surgery.

"That leads to people being able to behave with impunity and much of this goes unchecked," Prof Carrie Newlands, consultant surgeon from the University of Surrey.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-66775015

What the fuck?!?!?!?

The Guardian has an article about it as well

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/sep/12/female-surgeons-nhs-sexually-assaulted-metoo

I wasn't sure when I started reading if the assaults were committed by patients or colleagues, but it's clear by the end it's by their colleagues.

It makes me fearful what these people are getting up to with their anaesthetised and helpless patients.

There's a quote at the end of the Guardian article from Tim Mitchell, the President of the Royal College of Surgeons of England

He said such behaviour had “no place ... anywhere in the NHS”.
Describing it as “abhorrent”, he added: “We will not tolerate such behaviour in our ranks.”

He should resign, he's a fool or a liar. Either of which make him unfit for that post. It is 'abhorrent' but he has been tolerating 'such behaviour'. There's no way it can be so widespread and he be unaware of it, unless he's a fool. If he is aware of it, as he should be, then he's a liar.

Wow. Just when you think you can’t be any more shocked, some fucking men (usually men, let’s face it) come along and prove you wrong.

Outrageous. And it just makes me even more angry that the NHS has spent bajillions on their “diversity” “training” and “inclusion” “initiatives” while allowing this culture of sheer misogyny and REAL harm to bog standard, ordinary women to thrive unchecked.

But then again, it’s two sides of the same coin, ultimately. Male people as full humans, female people as service humans, again and again and again and again.

The NHS needs to stop facilitating the sexual abuse of staff and patients.

It makes me fearful what these people are getting up to with their anaesthetised and helpless patients.

Exactly. If they can sexually assault and harass their conscious female colleagues in front of others, safe in the knowledge that nobody is going to speak up about them, what are they getting away with doing to unconscious patients?

Just when I think there is little left that can shock me.

I accidentally saw a video of a sexual assault on a patient in Brazil. The video was recorded by female colleagues in order to evidence their complaints against him but I was so shaken. She was unconscious during a C-section. Apparently he was a serial offender.

Awful that even women literally carrying out surgery are subjected to this. Women surgeons apparently have better outcomes for patients - imagine how well they'd do if they weren't being preyed upon !

It would be interesting to know how many of the 81% of men who witnessed incidents did anything about it.

And to know more about the discrepancy between proportions of men and women witnessing incidents. Are men (slightly) less likely to do it in front of other men, are women more attuned to the subtle instances, or are there 9% of men who see things but think it's perfectly OK?

Fucking hell. What these men have been getting away with for years. Who has an erection while carrying out surgery? Seriously, what is wrong with them?! And agree it absolutely makes you wonder what the hell they are doing to the patients!

Listened to the headlines on the radio reporting it which led with both “men & women had been sexually harassed” & then went onto say 81% of women. I know men get sexually harassed but it is overwhelmingly a men on women issue and yet still got news items implying it affects both sexes equally. It really doesn’t

The BBC are leading with it on the lunchtime news. Openly using the woman word with interviewees being very clear a major issue is junior women staff being harassed by their senior male supervisors.

It is a sickening situation.

I remember similar being reported in Australia in 2015.

https://www.hcamag.com/au/news/general/surgeon-puts-spotlight-on-sexual-harassment-in-the-medical-profession/142174

It makes me fearful what these people are getting up to with their anaesthetised and helpless patients.

I had emergency surgery early in the pandemic with an entirely male theatre team. Things were already weird in the hospital, with staff and patient numbers being scaled back on my ward to prepare for the COVID onslaught. It niggles that I have no way of knowing if I was groped etc during the surgery whilst under GA. However, the extent of the revolting behaviour in this report makes me think that having female staff present is no guarantee of safety, for staff or patients. These men are emboldened enough to do it in plain sight and in the presence of colleagues. 😞

Remember this doctor in Brazil?

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11008785/Brazilian-anaesthetist-investigated-raping-six-sedated-women-C-sections.html

We have a massive toxic male problem and when is society going to wake up and address it. There's been a lot in the media and Rubiales has lifted the lid on sexism in football & now the surgeons. When's it going to stop? Unfortunately I don't think it ever will sadly, there's always going to be someone doing something inappropriate. However, it can't stay hidden for long with social media being popular. So now, we should call it out and name and shame the perpetrator publicly.

Yes, what really shocked me about Judith’s story is that none of her colleagues said or did anything to defend her!

Surely in most workplaces, if a man sexually assaulted a colleague in front of 10+ witnesses, he would face immediate dismissal for gross misconduct?

Are nurses subject to sexual assault? It would be interesting to extend this survey to cover other groups in the NHS.

I guess young female surgeons might get sucked into a macho culture with the expectation that they participate in banter and 'pranks' which are in reality assault. If you do have a culture like this then it is hard to individually to make a conplaint; it is possibly easier if you have just one assailant but if the behaviour is accepted by the majority then it is harder?

I wonder if being a female surgeon is a little like being a woman invited to a frat party? Your in the boys' environment so you accept behaviour to continue your career?

Could it also be some men do not accept women as colleagues generally and this internalized feeling manifests itself firstly as disrespect and ultimately sexual banter and even assault? Also are trusts unwilling to sanction senior male surgeons as the h is roles are so specialised? Remove your cardiac surgeon from duty and suddenly your treatment stats are failing?

I'm friends with a female surgeon who was sexually harassed by a senior colleague. She reported it and was then bullied by his boss who tried to get her to drop the complaint.

It's very difficult to protest as a junior doctor on a surgical training pathway as the consultants have the power to ruin your career. You are also rotated between hospitals every 6-12 months so it's much easier for them to just ignore the issue and ship the troublemaker off elsewhere.

In some ways nurses might have more power as they have a separate training, management and professional organisation structure and therefore potentially more support to take on the surgeon -although I am sure this massively depends on hospital management where they work.

Ultimately I think the problem is with how consultants are treated as all powerful. It's the same issue as that girl who died from sepsis after a fall on her bike. It's too hard for juniors to challenge and raise issues.

It's not about trans people, stop scaremongering/dogwhistling.

@RoaringtoLangClegintheDark is entirely right!! NHS is spending thousands pandering to shouty men with lady feels who make a tiny % of the population whilst ignoring the huge numbers of their male employees sexually harassing women. It is all part of the same misogyny where men matter more than women

Is it scaremongering to point out that the NHS is spending millions on a warped definition of diversity & inclusion while presiding over a culture of sexual assault on women employees? That the sexual abuse of women has been completely ignored while the NHS has rainbow flags, crossings, lanyards and sanctimonious words everywhere. As posters on here have pointed out for years - if you try to pretend the sex category of women doesn't exist you can't tackle sexism, assault & abuse.
Well done to these brave women for putting their careers at risk and speaking out. We look forward to seeing all the numerous well paid D & I NHS staff springing into action and tackling the abuse of women and girls in the NHS.
We'll wait.......... and wait.......

We know that women suffer more than they should in the NHS.

1. staff being sexually abused like this by other staff
2. much lower surgery success rates for surgery by males on females
3. numerous scandals which seem to affect women more - maternity, breast surgery, mesh, abuse of elderly patients (more likely to be women) to give some examples
4. horrendous stats on sexual assaults on patients
5. an inability to have sex based ward provision at the expense of safety.

For me it really does go to the top. Top surgeons are likely to be hospital management too. So this really matters if this is the contempt they have for colleagues.

It's utterly appalling.

I have a real fear of HCP. I won't see one without DH present if I can possibly help it.

He saw the story today and went wtf.

I said "and why do you think I don't trust these fuckers".

The contempt for women runs right through healthcare. It needs addressing as a priority.

It's time that the NHS were challenged about the millions of ££ they spend on exclusionary D & I policy & practice. Is it that they appoint misogynists who give support to these abusive male medics? How can it be that all these expensive D & I teams have failed to notice that women are routinely sexually assaulted in hospitals? Has their funding of dodgy anti women lobby groups contributed to their lack of care for women and girls? Or is there another reason that women's safety isn't anywhere on their radar?

The Guardian has put up a couple more articles. Be warned the first has two case studies from women who were assaulted. They are both rage inducing.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/sep/12/two-women-describe-sexual-assaults-in-surgery

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2023/sep/12/third-of-uk-medical-students-get-no-sexual-misconduct-training-study-finds

I'm at a loss to understand why students need training on this. It's not rocket surgery surely to know that rape and sexual assault are wrong, but here we are.