Observational studyThe British journal of surgery2023
Sexual harassment, sexual assault and rape by colleagues in the surgical workforce, and how women and men are living different realities: observational study using NHS population-derived weights.
Observational study in The British journal of surgery, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 26 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
26 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 80 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- A review of sexual misconduct in dentistry.British dental journal · 2025Pooled it
- Drivers of unprofessional behaviour between staff in acute care hospitals: a realist review.BMC health services research · 2023Pooled it
- Barriers and facilitators to implementing Women in Surgery initiatives at UK medical schools: A qualitative study.Surgery open science · 2026Review
- Article
- Seeing the unseen: a theory of sexual misconduct perception in the surgical workplace.The British journal of surgery · 2026Article
- Re-educating the surgical culture, is it possible?Canadian medical education journal · 2026Article
- Sexual harassment and workplace safety among female doctors: the hidden toll in Sri Lanka.BMJ global health · 2026Article
- Sex- and gender-based harassment: the toxic substrate of medical professional culture.CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne · 2026Article
- The health and care workforce crisis: co-benefits of gender-transformative approaches and capacities for implementation.European journal of public health · 2026Article
- Seeing Is Believing? Exploring Gender Bias in Artificial Intelligence Imagery of Specialty Doctors.The clinical teacher · 2026Article
- The rising tide of workplace violence in the healthcare sector: a global scoping review of burden, determinants, and prevention strategies (2021-2025).Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Interest in cardiothoracic surgery: are women more interested today?Indian journal of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery · 2026Review
- Gender challenges within the UK Defence Medical Services: recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce.BMJ military health · 2025Article
- Leading by Example: Strategies that Have Helped Inclusivity in the UK-A Personal Memoir.Indian journal of orthopaedics · 2025Article
- Us too: sexual harassment of female doctors in Sri Lanka.The Lancet regional health. Southeast Asia · 2025Article
- Education and training interventions for healthcare workers to prevent sexual harassment.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2025Article
- Observational
- Woman or surgeon - Not both: Perceptions of support, enablers and barriers in general surgery.Surgery open science · 2024Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
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- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
10 authors at 10 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThis observational study, paired with National Health Service (NHS) workforce population data, examined gender differences in surgical workforce members' experiences with sexual misconduct (sexual harassment, sexual assault, rape) among colleagues in the past 5 years, and their views of the adequacy of accountable organizations in dealing with this issue.
methodsThis was a survey of UK surgical workforce members, recruited via surgical organizations.
resultsSome 1704 individuals participated, with 1434 (51.5 per cent women) eligible for primary unweighted analyses. Weighted analyses, grounded in NHS England surgical workforce population data, used 756 NHS England participants. Weighted and unweighted analyses showed that, compared with men, women were significantly more likely to report witnessing, and be a target of, sexual misconduct. Among women, 63.3 per cent reported being the target of sexual harassment versus 23.7 per cent of men (89.5 per cent witnessing versus 81.0 per cent of men). Additionally, 29.9 per cent of women had been sexually assaulted versus 6.9 per cent of men (35.9 per cent witnessing versus 17.1 per cent of men), with 10.9 per cent of women experiencing forced physical contact for career opportunities (a form of sexual assault) versus 0.7 per cent of men. Being raped by a colleague was reported by 0.8 per cent of women versus 0.1 per cent of men (1.9 per cent witnessing versus 0.6 per cent of men). Evaluations of organizations' adequacy in handling sexual misconduct were significantly lower among women than men, ranging from a low of 15.1 per cent for the General Medical Council to a high of 31.1 per cent for the Royal Colleges (men's evaluations: 48.6 and 60.2 per cent respectively).
conclusionSexual misconduct in the past 5 years has been experienced widely, with women affected disproportionately. Accountable organizations are not regarded as dealing adequately with this issue.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.