Me Too investigation

An epidemic of sexual assault: How the NHS can better protect staff and patients

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Medicine's Me Too—"shocking" levels of sexual abuse

Ingrid Torjesen and Adele Waters, journalists for The BMJ, discuss their new investigation

“I quit my job in the NHS after my trust handled my sexual assault so badly”

Fleur Curtis shares her experience

Read all the related articles

NHS organisations are urged to commit to stamping out sexual harassment in the workplace
NHS trusts, general practices, and medical royal colleges are being encouraged to sign up to a sexual safety charter aimed at eradicating sexual harassment in the NHS

GMC: Doctors must act when they witness sexual harassment, says updated policy
The General Medical Council (GMC) has set out its position on sexual harassment by doctors towards other doctors for the first time in its professional standards guidance

Trusts should review policies for handling sexual assault and harassment of staff and patients, NHS England says
NHS trusts and integrated care boards have been told by NHS England to review their policies for handling cases of sexual assault, harassment, and abuse of staff and patients and to consider adopting dedicated policies on sexual safety

Medical colleges and unions call for inquiry over “shocking” levels of sexual assault in the NHS
NHS trusts recorded more than 35,000 cases of rape, sexual assault, harassment, stalking, and abusive remarks between 2017 and 2022, but only one in 10 trusts has a dedicated policy to manage the problem. Ingrid Torjesen and Adele Waters investigate

With sexual harassment or assault, what you permit, you promote
It is everyone’s responsibility to hold sexual predators in the NHS accountable or risk becoming complicit bystanders, writes Simon Fleming

How many more people will be abused before we act on sexual violence in healthcare?
Failures to record, investigate, and act on cases of sexual harassment and abuse in healthcare have enabled perpetrators, but three sanctioning mechanisms can help tackle this, writes Rosalind Searle

NHS reviews abuse of staff and patients, as legal bill exceeds £82m in five years
The NHS is conducting an urgent review into physical and sexual abuse of staff on NHS premises, with recommendations expected in the autumn

This Me Too moment shames the NHS
The findings from this joint investigation by The BMJ and Guardian, uncovered after eight months of reporting and five rounds of freedom of information requests, highlight the deficiencies that allow abuse to continue unchecked, writes Rebecca Coombes

“A healthcare assistant abused my daughter while she was in a mental health facility”
Kate shares her story as part of The BMJ and Guardian’s investigation into sexual assault in the NHS

“He’s left me feeling vulnerable, and I’m so angry”
Megan (name changed) was assaulted by Wayne Bronze, who was later struck off by the Nursing and Midwifery Council, in 2016. She shares her story

“The trust had no sexual assault policy, and nobody answered the Speak Up phone line”
After being assaulted at work, a junior surgeon looked up her hospital trust’s sexual safety policy and found it lacking. She spoke to The BMJ under the condition of anonymity

“I thought I would be safe in hospital, but I wasn’t”
Jade, who has multiple chronic health problems which require hospital admission, launched a claim against Derriford Hospital in light of the sexual assault she experienced there

“We reduced sexual safety incidents with better reporting systems and talking to patients about sex”
Sexual safety leads Sally Ashton and Emma Furlong share their story as part of The BMJ and Guardian’s investigation into sexual assault in the NHS

Harassment in the NHS: could the solution be the problem?
Settlement agreements were designed to resolve cases of harassment and misconduct, but their confidentiality means they might be inadvertently sustaining the problem, writes Hina Belitz

Trusts should review policies for handling sexual assault and harassment of staff and patients, NHS England says
NHS trusts and integrated care boards have been told by NHS England to review their policies for handling cases of sexual assault, harassment, and abuse of staff and patients. The action followed an investigation by The BMJ and the Guardian.

Doctor who was sexually assaulted at work wins case against trust after it asked colleagues if she had “inappropriate relationships”
A surgical trainee who was sexually assaulted by a colleague has won an employment tribunal case against her trust