Study reveals UK doctors rape female colleagues under their mentorship
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Female surgeons in the United Kingdom say they are being sexually harassed, assaulted and in some cases raped by colleagues in the operating theatre – reiterating the collateral alarm that doctors across the world should not treat patients of the opposite sex, particularly in the intimate parts, to prevent sexual temptation.
Nearly a third of female surgeons in the country have been sexually assaulted by a colleague in the past five years, according to a new study described as a “MeToo moment” for surgery.
The victims say they fear reporting incidents will damage their careers and they lack confidence the National Health Service (NHS) will take action.
As this is the case in an open society, where people in authority are closely checked and held accountable by law, the situation is worse in authoritarian and lawless parts of the world, including Nigeria, where men flaunt their status around women and commit all manner of abuse against women with impunity.
Female surgeons in the UK told BBC News they were sexually assaulted by their senior male colleagues even in the operating theatre while surgery took place.
The story is reproduced below:
Men’s pattern of abuse and brotherhood complicity
BBC News reports 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.
The analysis – by the University of Exeter, the University of Surrey and the Working Party on Sexual Misconduct in Surgery – was shared with BBC News.
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.
His face in her cleavage
There is a nervousness to talk openly. Judith asked that we use only her first name. She is now an experienced and talented consultant surgeon.
She was sexually assaulted early in her career when she was the person with the least power in the operating theatre – and a senior male surgeon was sweating.
“[He] just turned round and buried his head right into my breasts and I realised he was wiping his brow on me.
“You just freeze right, ‘why is his face in my cleavage?'”
When he did it for a second time Judith offered to get him a towel. The reply came back “no, this is much more fun”, she says, “and it was the smirk – I felt dirty, I felt humiliated”.
Even worse for her was the total silence of her colleagues.
“He wasn’t even the most senior person in the operating theatre, but he knew that behaviour was ok and that’s just rotten.”
This happened to Judith in the middle of the operating theatre, but the sexual harassment and sexual abuse extends beyond the hospital.
‘I trusted him’
Anne – we cannot reveal her real name for legal reasons – wanted to talk to the BBC because she believes change will only happen when people speak out.
She doesn’t choose to describe what happened to her as rape, but is clear the sex that took place was not consensual. It happened at a social event tied to a medical conference – a meeting of doctors within the same speciality.
In a familiar pattern, she was a trainee and he was a consultant.
“I trusted him, I looked up to him,” she says.
He played on that trust saying she didn’t know the other people there and that she couldn’t trust them.
“So, he walked me back to the place I was staying, I thought he wanted to talk and yet he just suddenly turned on me and he had sex with me.”
She said in that moment her body froze and “I couldn’t stop him.”
“It’s not what I wanted, it had never been what I wanted, it was totally unexpected.”
When she saw him the next day she was “barely able to hold myself together”.
“I didn’t feel I could make a fuss, I felt like there was a very strong culture of just putting up with whatever was done to you.”
The incident had a lasting impact, first leaving her emotionally numb and years later “the memory would come flooding into my mind like a horror, like a nightmare” at work, even as she was preparing to operate on a patient.
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Shaking confidence in surgeons
It is widely accepted there is a culture of silence around such behaviour. Surgical training relies on learning from senior colleagues in the operating theatre and women have told us it is risky to speak out about those who have power and influence over their future careers.
The report, which is being published in the British Journal of Surgery, is the first attempt to get a sense of the scale.
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.”
“Our findings are likely to shake the confidence of the public in the surgical profession,” said Dr Christopher Begeny, from the University of Exeter.
A second report – called Breaking the Silence: Addressing Sexual Misconduct in Healthcare – is making recommendations for what needs to change.
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,” says Prof Carrie Newlands, consultant surgeon from the University of Surrey.
She was motivated to tackle such behaviour after hearing the experiences of her junior colleagues.
She told the BBC: “The commonest scenario is that a junior female trainee is abused by a senior male perpetrator, who is often their supervisor.
“And that results in a culture of silence where people are in real fear of their future and their careers if they do speak up.”
‘Incredibly upsetting’
Another theme that emerged in the data was a lack of faith in bodies such as NHS Trusts, the General Medical Council (which manages the UK’s register of doctors allowed to practice) and the Royal Colleges (which represent specialities in medicine) – to tackle the problem.
“We need a major change in investigation processes so they become external and independent, and are trusted in order for healthcare to become a safer place to work,” says Prof Newlands.
The British Medical Association (BMA) called the findings “atrocious”.
Dr Latifa Patel, BMA equality lead, said: “It is appalling that women in surgery are being subjected to sexual assault and sexual misconduct from their colleagues, at work and often whilst they are trying to care for patients. The impact this will have on their wellbeing for years to come as well as their careers is profound.”
Tim Mitchell, the president of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, told the BBC the survey’s findings are “deeply shocking and will be a source of great embarrassment to the surgical profession.”
He acknowledged it is “clear it is a common problem” that has not been addressed.
“We need to put in place a culture of zero tolerance to ensure that there are mechanisms that mean people who are affected feel confident they can come forward, report these incidents and they will be taken seriously.”
Dr Binta Sultan, from NHS England, said the report made “incredibly difficult reading” and presented “clear evidence” that more action was needed to make hospitals “safe for all.”
She added: “We are already taking significant steps to do this, including through commitments to provide more support and clear reporting mechanisms to those who have suffered harassment or inappropriate behaviour.”
The General Medical Council last month updated its professional standards for doctors.
Its chief executive Charlie Massey said “acting in a sexual way towards patients or colleagues is unacceptable” and that “serious misconduct is incompatible” with continuing to practise medicine in the UK.
But is surgery a safe place for women to work today?
“Not always. And that’s a dreadful thing to have to admit,” says Judith.
Medical women and men living in different realities
“These findings show that women and men in the surgical workforce are living different realities. For women, being around colleagues is more often going to mean witnessing, and being a target of, sexual misconduct,” Medical Xpress added, quoting the study.
Close to 90 percent of women and 81 percent of men said they had witnessed sexual harassment among colleagues over the five year period.
Alongside instances of rape at work, the study found that survey participants “reported rape by colleagues in other work-related contexts, including teaching spaces, conferences, and after-work events with colleagues.”
The survey data also shows almost 11 percent of women reported experiencing “forced physical contact linked to career opportunities.”
“Sexual misconduct occurs frequently and appears to go unchecked in the surgical environment owing to a combination of a deeply hierarchical structure and a gender and power imbalance.”
A MeToo moment for surgery
Tamzin Cuming, chair of the Women in Surgery Forum at the Royal College of Surgeons of England, said this “represents a MeToo moment for surgery.”
“Now the real work has to start to bring about a profound change in the culture of health care,” Cuming wrote in The Times.
The survey was commissioned by The Working Party on Sexual Misconduct in Surgery (WPSMS), a group of NHS surgeons, clinicians and researchers “who are working to raise awareness of sexual misconduct in surgery, to bring about cultural and organisational change.”
