Don’t get me wrong, I love the NHS with a passion. I would never use private medicine, after all who picks up the pieces when mistakes are made in the private sexctor; surprise surprise, yes, you’ve got it, our wonderful NHS.
A very important statistic here is what I would like you to remember. 89% of nurses are female. 68% of specialist doctors are male. So we have a massive imbalance of men being in a position of power and women with no power at all.
UNISON has been investigating sexual harassment in the NHS to discover some horrific statistics and anecdotal evidence. 1 in 10 or 10% of healthcare workers of whom the majority are women have reported experiences of sexual harassment.
The healthcare workers include ambulance workers, 111 call handlers, porters, and cleaners.
The victims have been shown porn, offered money for sex at work, been leered at, been the target of suggestive gestures, unwelcome sexual advances, propositions or demands for sexual favours, crude banter, invasion of personal space, unwanted comments about clothing or appearance, unwelcome messages of a sexual nature and exposure to offensive material such as pornographic images.
56% said incidents involved colleagues, two fifths experienced problems with patients and 16% were caused by managers. The victims do not report these issues because they fear of being called over-sensitive, a lack of trust in the process and a feeling that their employer would not act on their complaint.
111 call handlers are regularly harassed on the phone by anonymous callers. Managers tell them it is part of their job.
There has been rape and sexual assault at work., a male colleague undoing a health worker’s bra as she walked down the corridor, another was offered money for sex by her colleague and female staff groped by patients.
Looking at all this despicable behaviour, here is the NHS sexual safety charter. Ask yourselves whether it is enough to protect staff? The theory, of course, is that if it were followed, NHS staff, especially female staff would be safe. The problem is putting into practice this fantastic charter:
1. We will actively work to eradicate sexual harassment and abuse in the workplace.
2. We will promote a culture that fosters openness and transparency and does not tolerate unwanted, harmful and /or inappropriate sexual behaviours.
3. We will take an intersectional approach to the sexual safety of our workforce, recognising certain groups will experience sexual harassment and abuse at a disproportionate rate.
( My words: – this means women. Officials are scared to address this issue because most of them are men. This means pointing the finger at themselves and they cannot cope with it. The language around women in officialdom is always very vague and impersonal.)
4.We will provide appropriate support for those in our workforce who experience unwanted , inappropriate and/or harmful sexual behaviours.
5.We will clearly communicate standards of behaviour. This includes expected action for those who witness inappropriate, unwanted and/or harmful sexual behaviour.
6. We will ensure appropriate, specific and clear policies are in place. They will include appropriate and timely action against alleged perpetrators.
7. We will ensure appropriate, specific and clear training is in place.
8. We will ensure appropriate reporting mechanisms are in place for those experiencing these behaviours.
9. We will take all reports seriously and appropriate and timely action will be taken in all cases.
10. We will capture and share data on prevalence and staff experience transparently.
Reading the UNISON report makes it very clear that none of this is being followed. It does not matter how many hospitals sign up to this charter if they just ignore what is going on in their area of work.
These charters should be put up on walls for everyone to see, even in outpatients and wards as mostly male patients are also behaving in this disgusting manner. I take patients to hospitals and I have never seen or even heard of this charter. This has come out due to the work of UNISON.
“More must be done to protect nurses, healthcare assistants, cleaners and other NHS staff from sexual harassment, reassure them their complaints will be fully investigated and action taken against the perpetrators.”
First train the managers to take this seriously as often they are the perpetrators. Make that charter public so that staff know that it is there.
A quote from a midwife:
“A senior doctor used to take advantage when I was in one of the consulting rooms on my own by invading my space, hugging, kissing, touching in a sexual way, despite constant requests for him to stop. I did not feel confident to raise these assaults with anyone senior.”
This says it all. Where was the charter?
Finally, my own experience from my mother.
She was in hospital in a geriatric ward years ago. Of course the elderly in these wards are invisible. When I arrived to visit her, she was in a state of shock. 2 young doctors had stood at the bottom of her bed and discussed a particular nurse as to how she would have sex with any of them. “You should try her , she never says no.”
Of course they discussed this poor young woman in sexual language which was very shocking. Then they laughed and walked off. I had visions of this poor young nurse being raped on a regular basis with no one to turn to, terrified of coming to work every day and surrounded by these unfeeling monsters.
I begged my mother to let me complain but she was too frightened. She thought the doctors would take their revenge out on her, a weak old lady in a geriatric ward.
I demand that the NHS makes this charter public, posts it up everywhere for everyone to see so that staff and patients will know where they stand and how they should behave.
