Medical alert: sexual harassment in the health care industry

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Abstract
Sexual harassment is an illegal form of sexual discrimination prohibited by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Although the U. S. Supreme Court has recognized that sexual harassment is illegal conduct for which an employer is liable, this transgression continues to be a major workplace problem. Although some researchers have analyzed the incident level of sexual harassment in general, little work has been conducted on particular industries. The research described in this article is the summary of the results of a study of sexual harassment in the health care industry. A written survey was sent to 950 randomly selected members of the Kentucky Board of Nursing. Thirty-five percent of the 441 respondents to the survey indicated they had been sexually harassed in their capacity as nurses. More than 77 percent of those occurrences involved physicians as the harassers. When harassed, 51 percent of the respondents were aged 25 to 35; 25 percent, 25 or younger; 20 percent, 36 to 45; and 4 percent were 46 to 55. Fifty-three percent said they were harassed by supervisors; 32 percent said they were harassed by patients. The survey showed that 23 percent of those harassed felt threatened in their job status if they did not go along with harassing behavior, and 24 percent reported the incidents. Only 23 percent of the nurses indicated that their employers had policies and procedures in place to address sexual harassment. Further, of the respondents that reported being sexually harassed, only 23 percent of these victims reported the incidents. Sexual harassment complaints in the health care industry must be taken seriously. Health care institutions must adopt appropriate policies and procedures to address sexual harassment. The written policy statement on sexual harassment should show strong support from top management, specify the types of behavior perceived as sexual harassment, and be widely disseminated. Training should be provided to all staff, and effective enforcement mechanisms should be implemented.