A third of NHS female surgical staff have been sexually assaulted by colleagues in the past five years. An astounding, appalling figure highlighting the true extent of sexual misconduct women face in the NHS.
Perhaps a taboo topic in the past, since the #MeToo movement, women have finally felt the courage to speak up about some of the toxic culture in the NHS. As stories started to come out, it began to show a deep-rooted problem that needs urgent awareness, action and change.
This experience of sexual misconduct is not unique to staff, but medical students too. We often find ourselves in vulnerable situations with people in positions of power. From subtle sexist comments and comments on our appearance to inappropriate touching, there have been too many occasions. Even when medical students do speak out, there aren’t clear safe spaces for us to turn to, or accessible avenues for help.
This needs to end, and to achieve that we need to know the extent of the problem. Working with Surviving in Scrubs, we have created a survey asking medical students about their experience of sexism and sexual violence on placement in the NHS. We want to give a voice to students, creating a strong narrative of a shared experience that cannot be ignored.
No experience is too small or insignificant, and whether it was direct or witnessed, we want to know. We are a collective power – we can use our voices to push for change, hold medical schools and placements accountable, and end the unsafe culture in the NHS.
We know this is an incredibly sensitive topic and experiences can be very difficult to share. All responses will be anonymised, and there is an opt-out option if you wish to just share an experience with the BMA privately but do not want it to be publicised. Similarly, you may have had an experience that you do not wish to share but just want us to know something occurred, which is OK too. Any response helps build our case about the struggle medical students face with sexism and sexual harassment.
The BMA is unable to take direct action on individual incidents raised in this survey, but if you are a member and would like support from the BMA, you can get it by contacting an adviser. Or you can contact our 24/7 counselling and peer support services regardless of your membership status – call 0330 123 1245 or contact the service online. Other services that are there to support you include The Survivors Trust, Rape Crisis England and Wales, Rape Crisis Northern Ireland and Rape Crisis Scotland.
The survey opened on 25 March and closes at noon on 22 April. Take the survey
Ria Bansal is a medical student at the University of Nottingham. Akshata Valsangkar is a medical student at the University of Bristol. Together, Ria and Akshata are your BMA medical students committee deputy co-chairs for welfare.