The unfortunate reality, which has become more clear in recent years, is that workplace sexual harassment seems to be common in almost every single industry. If you thought there was a stereotypical industry that contained most harassment cases or that there were “safe” industries where that sort of thing did not happen, you’re probably wrong. It can and does happen anywhere.
To really underscore this point, recent reports show just how common harassment is in the medical community. About four percent of male doctors and medical professionals claimed they had faced harassment in just the last three years. It’s even higher for female medical workers, coming in right around 10 percent. Again, that’s just in the last few years, so the percentages are likely higher if you consider harassment over the course of an entire career.
If you’re wondering where the harassment came from, other physicians were often to blame. That was true for 54 percent of residents who were harassed and for 47 percent of physicians themselves.
On top of that, the majority of victims felt like their organization refused to help them. They claimed that their employers “trivialized the incident” and often did nothing at all. That claim was made by a full 54 percent of medical professionals who faced sexual harassment in any sense.
This report shows not only how common harassment is, but it also shows that some medical workplaces have a culture that allows the harassment to continue by not taking it seriously. If you have been victimized on the job, it is more important than ever that you know exactly what legal options you have.
