What is sexual harassment?
The legal definition of sexual harassment in Australia is any unwelcome sexual advance, request for sexual favours or other behaviour of a sexual nature that makes a person feel offended, humiliated and/or intimidated, where a reasonable person would anticipate that reaction in the circumstances.1,2 Sexual harassment can occur as a single event or as part of a pattern of behaviour.
Types of sexual harassment include:1
- unwelcome physical contact (such as sexual touching, grabbing or kissing)
- unnecessary familiarity with another person’s body (such as deliberately brushing up against a person) staring or leering
- whistling
- suggestive/lewd comments or jokes gender-based insults or taunts
- unwanted invitations to go out on dates requests for sex
- intrusive questions about a person’s private life or body
- communicating content of a sexual nature through social media, email or text messages stalking.
In the context of general practice, other behaviours can also constitute sexual harassment, such as requests for inappropriate genital examinations or inappropriate exposure of body parts.
How common is sexual harassment by patients
Regrettably, sexual harassment is extremely common in Australian society. A 2018 study by the Australian Human Rights Commission revealed that 71% of Australian adults have been sexually harassed at some point in their lifetime, including 85% women and 56% of men.3
Limited data exist on the prevalence of sexual harassment of GPs by patients. In one 2011 study, 6% of Australian GPs reported having been sexually harassed in the previous year, with female GPs and early-career GPs reporting more frequent sexual harassment than their male counterparts or GPs with more experience.4 Another Australian study found that almost 55% of female Australian GPs had been sexually harassed by a patient at some point. Almost 10% of those had been sexually harassed more than eight times.5
Other general practice team members with frontline, patient-facing roles are also at risk, though there is a lack of published prevalence data.
What are the impacts of sexual harassment by patients?
By definition, sexual harassment can make a person feel humiliated or intimidated. Over time, it can affect a person’s physical and mental health.6 When it occurs at work, it can impact a person’s career satisfaction7 and contribute to burnout.8
Unfortunately, many female Australian GPs who have experienced sexual harassment report changing the way they practise as a result, with some altering their dress, their manner in consultations and/or their hours of practice. Some opted to refrain from performing particular examinations or from working alone.5