According to the study, only one NHS trust in England provides specific training to prevent sexual harassment, raising concerns that the NHS is failing to adequately protect staff and patients.
According to the health workers’ union, sexual harassment of staff is widespread. A 2019 Unison survey found that one in twelfth NHS staff had been sexually harassed at work during the past year, with more than half saying a colleague was the perpetrator. V recent BMA survey91% of female doctors reported sexism, 31% experienced unwanted physical contact, and 56% experienced unwanted verbal comments.
More research The University of Cambridge, published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine on Friday, found that the vast majority of NHS trusts do not provide specific training to prevent sexual harassment.
The report analyzed freedom of information request data from 199 trusts in England and found that only 35 offered any active witness training (ABT) to their employees, and only one NHS trust had a specific module on sexual harassment.
ABT is designed to give people the skills to identify inappropriate behavior, from workplace bullying to racism and sexual harassment. It is widely used 1, universities and Whitehall, including home Office.
The authors of the report said that the failure to provide such training in the health service could hinder the NHS’s efforts to combat sexual harassment.
Dr. Sara Steele, Senior Research FellowUniversity of Cambridge and the author of the report, said: “It is unacceptable that so few NHS Trusts in England provide active witness training when this has been proven to enable staff to deal with harassment and violence when they see it.
“The National Health Service must ensure that all employees receive active witness training from the earliest days of their bachelor’s degrees to those nearing retirement. Without this, sexual harassment issues will remain a problem in the NHS and in society at large.”
Responding to the findings, Scarlett McNally, president of the Medical Women’s Federation, said there was an urgent need to improve working conditions for women doctors. “Training for active monitors should be mandatory, including activities to stop sexual harassment,” she said. “The emphasis should not only be on reporting horrendous behavior, but also on stopping such behavior and changing the culture so that everyone is treated with respect.”
Medina Johnson, executive director of IRISi, a non-profit organization that helps healthcare professionals identify and respond to cases of gender-based violence during consultations, said NHS funds are prioritized… We can’t fight and prevent sexual harassment if people don’t know that what they are and how to recognize them.
Helga Pyle, Deputy Head of Health at Unison, said: “Every employer should educate their employees to report sexual harassment when they see their colleagues being harassed. In the NHS, the pressure on staff is extremely high, so it’s important to make sure they are trained and feel confident to stand up to unacceptable behaviour.
