Response to Surviving in Scrubs' report

Published: 22/11/2023
Responding to the new Surviving in Scrubs report, Dr Sarah Thornton, RCoA representative on the Working Party on Sexual Misconduct in Surgery (WPSMS) and Dr Fiona Donald, RCoA President said: 

“The testimonies in this report are very concerning and our heart goes out to the people affected. The evidence of sexism and sexual violence presented echoes the findings of the Working Party on Sexual Misconduct in Surgery’s recent report, ‘Breaking the Silence’, which revealed the extent of sexual misconduct within the surgical team.

“We must do everything we can to eradicate these behaviours and the College is committed to playing its part. In addition to our work with WPSMS, we have signed up to NHS England’s first sexual safety in healthcare charter, which reinforces our commitment to a zero tolerance approach to any unwanted, inappropriate and/or harmful sexual behaviours in the workplace and to ten core principles and actions to help achieve this."