Assaults in the hospital – When doctors harass their female colleagues | DW Documentary
Women who become doctors choose their profession to heal people. But in hospitals, they often become victims of sexual harassment. This film features case studies from Switzerland.
From obscene jokes by powerful bosses in the operating room to sexual blackmail and assaults during training: in this film, female students, doctors, and surgeons recount what they have had to endure. In an environment still marked by a culture of silence, harassers are rarely punished by their superiors.
Often, victims are reluctant to file a complaint for fear of jeopardizing their careers. Some take the risk and report the incidents to human resources, but these complaints are seldom followed up. Although hospitals claim to have a zero-tolerance policy, harassers rarely experience any negative consequences.
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Video “Assaults in the hospital – When doctors harass their female colleagues | DW Documentary” was uploaded on 08/06/2026 by DW Documentary Youtube channel.




































When i was a student nurse (im a guy), the operating theatre nurses asked if i could stand behind the surgeon. Sure, no problem. Halfway through the operation i was watching, the surgeon said: "Nurse, scratch my right inner thigh" I said in my deep bass voice: "Certainly sir" and went to scratch his thigh. Suddenly he stammered that he was ok now.
Turned out he did this regularly, abusing the fact he needs to keep his hands sterile to get a (female) nurse to touch him. He'd never had a male nurse in his operating room before.
(Surgeons will occasionally ask you to scratch a particular place, usually somewhere on their back, or a shoulder, or face. Just part of the job. This guy was using that privilege to be sexually inappropriate. )
I got on really well with the theatre nurses after that!
My mother is a PA and she has heard of this in her hospital and it is appalling just how much it happens. Unfortunately this makes sense sometimes it is a very high stress field and unfortunately some people have bad ways to exert that stress.
Thank you DW for another eye opening doku. And thanks all these strong and talented women who talked about this disturbing issue loudly. As a woman I appreciate your honesty ❤. And I feel you. for all the pain you have gone under😢.
I was abused as a patient. I was 22 years old, extremely naive. A doctor requesting a breast feel, for cancerous lumps? I trusted, ad feel so stupid now, looking back. I was in there for a D&C. I signed myself out, without any treatment and never went back. But my trust is now broken. I search for answers within myself.
Thankyou for this video. Much love to all❤
It happens in every "industry". I worked in hospitality and got yelled at. My coworkers told me that's normal and it's just the way the manager "motivates" them. They were all way younger than me and already normalized the abuse.
how can an abusive surgeon do his job good and right????
Wait!!! So the victims need to protect themselves from known abusers so they can complete their education (an educational process that is already challenging). These self absorbed God like arrogant narcissistic doctors have no consequences for criminal abuse. This is a crime!!! However this is France, this is not surprising how they can find ways obfuscate what is classified as "ABUSE". THIS SHOULD BE A FEDERAL CHANGE.
But this news is frightening and horrifying. How could someone commit such atrocities in a place like a hospital?
This stuff is common in India 🤣🤣😜😜
This is happening in this era and in Europe which was supposed to be progressive and gender neutral in scheme of things is beyond my imagination . It’s really shameful.
So their solution to combat this is to role play sexual abuse in a medical field for medical college student and by that normalizing it? Have never encountered anything dumber. How about making stricter sexual harassment laws and punishing perpetrators to the full extent of the law?
Women have come a long way. And they still have a long way to go. What our mothers, grandmothers, and great grandmothers would've suffered in silence is less acceptable today. Sexual harassment in the workplace should be very strong grounds for dismissal.
Watch the government do nothing because they are the ones allowing it.
Issue is mainly government is complicit in this and they are never going to blame themselves
Call the Police.
They’re the primary enablers of this enlightened institutional behaviour.
Or join the military.
Or parliament.
H R. 😂
A lot of people in the medical profession abuse their power, I’ve experienced myself.
Corporation by Hierarchical Power is Obvious Abuse of Power…
These monsters need to be charged with sexual assault sue them also this is crazy
Appalling!!!! Even Europe has this culture still…..