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Abstract
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Growing evidence shows that healthcare in the United Kingdom and worldwide has a problem with sexual violence. Increasing numbers of people who have faced sexual violence, predominantly women, are coming forward to share their experiences.1234
When it comes to sexual predators, what we permit, we promote. Think of people at work who “gave you the ick,” “were walking, talking red flags.” Many of us will be aware of people who fit this description, and some of us will have experiences of sexual harassment, assault, or rape by such sexual predators.
In England and Wales, evidence indicates that, by the age of 16, one in 20 women will have experienced attempted rape or rape. Moreover, 98% of the perpetrators of rape or assault by penetration are men.5 In healthcare specifically, the best data we have, allowing for under-reporting, indicates up to a 60% rate of sexual harassment of nurses, with data for doctors reporting endemic, if lower, rates.6 Rates of 10-15% for sexual assault and 1% for rape have been reported for surgical staff.7
Rape culture and the hierarchical and patriarchal structures we work in silence and dismiss the voices of people who have been harassed, assaulted, and raped. Rape culture describes the normalisation and underplaying of sexual violence in society. Writer Rebecca Solnit explains, “Rape culture asserts that women’s testimony is worthless, untrustworthy . . . who is heard and who is not defines the status quo.” The NHS has such a culture of hierarchy, patriarchy, and power.
So here is a question—if reading about sexual violence doesn’t fill you with either fury or disgust, why not? This might be due to familiarity with these experiences or normalisation and acceptance of what is toxic, at best, and criminal, at worst. Or it is simply denial, a freedom afforded to those in a place of privilege, because the truth is too uncomfortable?
Language: en |