Nearly one third of female NHS surgeons have been sexually assaulted in the workplace in the past five years

Almost one in three female surgeons working in the NHS have been sexually assaulted in the workplace in the last five years, a shocking new survey has found.

Eleven instances of rape were reported by medics who took part in the study, published in the British Journal of Surgery, in what has been described as a “Me Too moment” for the profession.

Some 29% of women who participated in the anonymous online survey, which was the largest of its kind ever conducted into the profession, said they had experienced unwanted physical advances while performing surgery; 40% had received unwanted comments about their body, and 38% had been subjected to sexual ‘banter’.

Sexual coercion was found to be a “major concern”, with 11% of female surgeons saying they had experienced “forced physical contact linked to career opportunities”. Meanwhile, 90% of women and 81% of men reported having witnessed sexual misconduct or harassment in the workplace.

Experts in the field have said the findings of the study, commissioned by the Working Party on Sexual Misconduct in Surgery, “reveal an environment where sexual assault, harassment, and rape can occur among staff,” which they attributed to a system that protects perpetrators rather than victims.

The research added that sexual misconduct and harassment within the profession “appear to go unchecked”, owing to a “combination of a deeply hierarchical structure, and a gender and power imbalance.”

The result, the report concludes, “is an unsafe working environment” as well as “an unsafe space for patients” - since the findings show that perpetrators who target their colleagues are “more likely to transgress sexual boundaries with patients”.

Tamzin Cuming, a consultant surgeon who chairs the Women in Surgery forum at the Royal College of Surgeons of England, said the report puts forward “some of the most appalling facts ever to come out” about the field and “represents a MeToo moment for surgery”.

Writing in The Times, she continued: “Our research reveals an environment where sexual assault, harassment ,and rape can occur among staff working in surgery but allows it to be ignored because the system protects those carrying it out rather than those affected. We need urgent change in the oversight of how healthcare investigates itself.”

Ms Cuming called for the creation of a national implementation panel to oversee action on the report’s recommendations, and for incidents of sexual misconduct to be independently investigated.

She said: “No one should need to call for a code of conduct that says, in essence, ‘please do not molest your work colleagues or students’, and yet this is one of the actions our report recommends. The report is measured, its recommendations achievable, but this shouldn’t disguise the anger and frustration felt by many in our profession.”

A government spokesperson told The Times that Health Secretary Steve Barclay is “clear that sexual violence or misconduct of any kind is unacceptable and has no place in the NHS”. They added that the MP is “working closely” with leaders in the health service to “root out this unacceptable behaviour, and ensure services are always safe for staff and patients.

The statement added: “Signatories commit to taking and enforcing a zero-tolerance approach to any unwanted, inappropriate and/or harmful sexual behaviours within the workplace.”

The results of the study have been presented to NHS England, the General Medical Council, and the British Medical Association.