The data about rampant sexual harassment and gender discrimination of female doctors are confirmed by numerous studies.3 These incidents should be further divided by the settings in which they ...occurred because level of power differential in relations between supervising person and victim6 is much higher in training and academic settings than in medical office, and the average age of the victim is younger in training than in other settings.6 Research by the Pew Research Center7 supported several intuitive hypotheses important for analysis of the problem of sexual harassment and gender discrimination in general and in medicine in the USA. 66% of Americans, regardless of gender and political affiliation, attributed the allegations mainly to widespread problems in society, whereas just 28% of adults attributed them mainly to individual misconduct. 22% of employed women said they have been sexually harassed at work, 42% of employed women said they had experienced some form of gender discrimination at work, and 57% of women (and 42% of men) said the country had not gone far enough in giving women equal rights with men. 41% of women said men have it easier than women—a view shared by 28% of men. ...victims of harassment or discrimination use personal money to pay for legal representation, whereas institutions pay for defence of powerful offenders. ...victims of abuse and discrimination who come forward are often retaliated against.
Background
The topic of discrimination, bullying and sexual harassment in surgery was raised in the Australian media earlier in 2015. This led the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) to ...commission an Expert Advisory Group to investigate and advise the College on their prevalence in surgery in Australia and New Zealand. This paper reports the findings with respect to prevalence of these inappropriate behaviours.
Methods
The data in this paper were drawn from the published results of two quantitative surveys. One was an online survey sent to all RACS members. The other was an invited survey of hospitals, medical institutions and other related professional organizations including surgical societies.
Results
The prevalence survey achieved a 47.8% response rate, representing 3516 individuals. Almost half of the respondents 1516 (49.2%) indicated that they had experienced one or more of the behaviours. This proportion was consistent across every specialty. Male surgical consultants were identified as the most likely perpetrators. More than 70% of the hospitals reported that they had instances in their organization of discrimination, bullying or sexual harassment by a surgeon within the last 5 years. Surgical directors or surgical consultants were by far the most frequently reported perpetrators (in 50% of hospitals).
Conclusions
Discrimination, bullying and sexual harassment are common in surgical practice and training in Australia and New Zealand. RACS needs to urgently address these behaviours in surgery. This will involve a change in culture, more education for fellows and trainees, and better processes around complaints including support for those who have suffered.
Sexual harassment is a pervasive problem on college campuses. Across eight academic campuses, 16,754 students participated in an online study that included questions about sexual harassment ...victimization by a faculty/staff member or by a peer since enrollment at their Institution of Higher Education (IHE). Utilizing an intersectional theory and hurdle models, this study explored the effects of gender, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, age at enrollment, student status, and time spent at institution on students’ risk for peer- and faculty/staff-perpetrated sexual harassment victimization, as well as the extent of victimization for students who experience harassment. Across institutions, 19% of students reported experiencing faculty/staff-perpetrated sexual harassment and 30% reported experiencing peer-perpetrated sexual harassment. Hypotheses related to intersectional impacts were partially supported, with most significant findings in main effects. Time at institution was found to increase both risk and extent of victimization of both types of harassment. Traditional undergraduate students, non-Latinx White students, female students, and gender and sexual minority students were found to be at increased risk for harassment. Being female increases the odds of experiencing both faculty/staff and peer sexual harassment by 86% and 147%, respectively. Latinx students and students with an ethnicity other than White reported less victimization, but those who reported sexual harassment faced greater extent of harassing behaviors. A discussion of these findings for institutional program planning and policy is explored.
Abstract Although peer bystanders can exacerbate or prevent bullying and sexual harassment, research has been hindered by the absence of a validated assessment tool to measure the process and ...sequential steps of the bystander intervention model. A measure was developed based on the five steps of Latané and Darley’s (1970) bystander intervention model applied to bullying and sexual harassment. Confirmatory factor analysis with a sample of 562 secondary school students confirmed the five-factor structure of the measure. Structural equation modeling revealed that all the steps were influenced by the previous step in the model, as the theory proposed. In addition, the bystander intervention measure was positively correlated with empathy, attitudes toward bullying and sexual harassment, and awareness of bullying and sexual harassment facts. This measure can be used for future research and to inform intervention efforts related to the process of bystander intervention for bullying and sexual harassment.
Gender Harassment Leskinen, Emily A; Cortina, Lilia M; Kabat, Dana B
Law and human behavior,
02/2011, Letnik:
35, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
This study challenges the common legal and organizational practice of privileging sexual advance forms of sex-based harassment, while neglecting gender harassment. Survey data came from women working ...in two male-dominated contexts: the military and the legal profession. Their responses to the Sexual Experiences Questionnaire (SEQ) revealed five typical profiles of harassment: low victimization, gender harassment, gender harassment with unwanted sexual attention, moderate victimization, and high victimization. The vast majority of harassment victims fell into one of the first two groups, which described virtually no unwanted sexual advances. When compared to non-victims, gender-harassed women showed significant decrements in professional and psychological well-being. These findings underscore the seriousness of gender harassment, which merits greater attention by both law and social science.
Gender bias and sexual misconduct continue to pervade medicine. The authors hypothesize that gender bias and sexual misconduct disproportionately and negatively affect female plastic surgery ...trainees.
A national survey of plastic surgery trainees (2018 to 2019) was conducted using previously validated sexual harassment surveys adapted for relevance to plastic surgery. Respondents were queried about experiences with workplace gender bias and harassment; personal and professional impact; and reporting practices. Analyses included chi-square, logistic regression, and analysis of variance. Significance was accepted for values of p < 0.05.
There were 236 responses (115 female respondents; 20.1 percent response rate). Most respondents were Caucasian (Asian/Pacific Islander, n = 34) residents (n = 123). The feeling of hindrance to career advancement was greater for women, by 10-fold (p < 0.001), and increased with age (p = 0.046). Women felt uncomfortable challenging attitudes regarding gender inequality (p < 0.001), regardless of training levels (p = 0.670) or race (p = 0.300). Gender bias diminished female trainees' career goals/ambition (p < 0.001). Women were more likely to experience sexual harassment, in the form of jokes (p = 0.003) and comments about their body or sexuality (p = 0.014). Respondents reported the majority of perpetrators of harassment to be attending physicians (30 percent) and other trainees (37 percent). Most common reasons to not report incidents included "futility" (29 percent) and "fear" (20 percent). Women experienced at least three symptoms of depression/anxiety, significantly higher than men (p = 0.001).
Gender bias and sexual misconduct negatively affect female trainees' attitudes toward their career. Two-thirds of cases of sexual harassment originate from other physicians. Minority trainees are less prepared to address transgressions and more likely to experience sexual coercion. Trainees perceive a culture nonconducive to reporting. These findings can guide changes and discussions surrounding workplace culture in plastic surgery training.
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