Recent publications from the American Medical Association have highlighted the results of research regarding sexual harassment and discrimination in the medical field, and those investigations revealed that sexual harassment and discrimination remain major problems in medicine. If you’re a New York doctor, nurse, or medical worker and you’ve experienced harassment or discrimination, you should discuss your situation with an experienced New York employment discrimination lawyer. Reporting may seem professionally tricky and personally daunting, but a knowledgeable attorney can help you assess your situation and decide on a workable plan.
In March, the JAMA Health Forum published the outcome of a study that looked at the prevalence of sexual harassment during the intern year of physicians in training. The good news was that the frequency of the sexual harassment of interns went down. The bad news was that it declined only slightly and remained strikingly high – from 62.8% in 2017 to 54.6% in 2023. In other words, interns were more likely, even in 2023, to experience sexual harassment than not.
The numbers were especially disconcerting for female interns. In 2017, 76.6% of women reported sexual harassment during their intern year, and that figure dipped only to 72.0% in 2023. The main thrust driving the drop was the prevalence of harassment experienced by male interns, which plummeted from 50.8% in 2017 to 36.4% in 2023.
For female interns, the problem of “verbal and nonverbal behaviors that convey hostility, objectification, exclusion, or second-class status” – misconduct that, if proven in court, might constitute a violation of the laws against gender discrimination -- showed only a modest drop, from 75.0% in 2017 to 69.4% in 2023.
Additionally, the problem for women of unwanted sexual attention remained largely unchanged (28.4% in 2017 and 28.7% in 2023,) and the prevalence of sexual coercion actually went up (from 2.3% in 2017 to 5.5% in 2023.) Sexual coercion essentially amounted to what is quid pro quo sexual harassment under the law; namely, where a harasser conditioned “favorable professional or educational treatment” on sexual activity.
A Surprising Result from a Predominantly Female Specialty
Historically, many who looked at sexual harassment considered part, if not most, of the problem to be a male one; namely, men misusing their authority over comparatively less powerful women. A study published last month in JAMA Network Open casts doubt on that, instead pointing toward a complex problem possibly more closely tied to power dynamics rather than gender.
The study looked into the incidence of sexual harassment “and other abusive behaviors” in obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN.) The results found that more than 25% of physicians and more than 70% of gynecological oncologists (sub-specialists who focus on cancers of the female reproductive system) experienced discrimination or harassment. More than half of all women and more than 38% of men reported workplace discrimination.
The significance of this study is that OB/GYN is a majority-female specialty. One of the authors of the study noted that the “thought has been that if we introduce more women into the workforce, specifically into academic medicine, that the rates of [harassing] behaviors will go down." However, “within OB/GYN, which is predominantly female, we're not really seeing that. We're still seeing really high rates of these behaviors.” The study found that the men who were victimized by sexual harassment often had female harassers.
Sexual Harassment Laws in NYC
When it comes to federal, state, and city laws against sexual harassment in New York City, there are some important things to keep in mind. Potentially one of the biggest is that you and your harasser’s respective sexes, gender identifications, and sexual orientations do not determine whether or not you were the victim of illegal sexual harassment. In other words, even if you are a cisgender, heterosexual man, and the person you believe sexually harassed you was also a cisgender, heterosexual man, the conduct you endured may still be a violation of the law. Getting pinched on the buttocks every day at work is sexual harassment, even if the pincher has no carnal interest in you. Indeed, according to BYU-Hawaii, the majority of men who sexually assault other men identify as heterosexual.
Whether you are a physician, resident, intern, nurse, or medical technician, you should be free to pursue your profession without the impediments of sexual harassment and discrimination. If you believe you have encountered this misconduct, the skillful New York gender discrimination attorneys at Phillips & Associates can help. Our team understands that these may be sensitive matters – both personally and professionally – and we have the experience and insight to help you find a plan for seeking justice that works best for you. To learn more, contact us online or at (833) 529-3476 to set up a free and confidential consultation.