The Joint Committee on Surgical Training (JCST) have published a statement on the findings of the recently published report:
The findings of the survey conducted by the Working Party on Sexual Misconduct in Surgery, published today in BJS, are truly shocking. Working with the four surgical royal colleges, JCST is committed to a zero-tolerance approach to sexual misconduct. We will actively work to eradicate this behaviour in surgery and healthcare.
No trainee should be made to feel that their career prospects would be put in jeopardy by reporting incidents of harassment and assault. JCST welcomes the recommendations made in the working party’s report, Breaking the Silence: Addressing Sexual Misconduct in Healthcare. We will do our part to implement the solutions put forward so that surgery is the safe and welcoming profession it should be.
If you experience or witness sexual harassment or assault in the workplace, if you feel able, please report it through your hospital procedures and, if appropriate, to the police. There is third-party help and support available via the links below.
https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/sexual-health/help-after-rape-and-sexual-assault/
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/victim-and-witness-services
https://www.wpsms.org.uk/support.html
You can read more about what the surgical royal colleges are doing about sexual misconduct in surgery here.
Recent Interview with Clare McNaught, Vice-President of RCSEd, discussing the findings and what must be done, on BBC, The Nine.