In California, sexual harassment can happen in any kind of job or circumstance. Some, however, are more prone to encourage those in positions of power to commit harassment. People who are in the middle of receiving training to achieve their career goals are prime targets for sexual harassment and abuse.
For those who are subjected to this type of treatment, it is important to know there are avenues available to address it, put a stop to it and hold those committing these acts accountable.
Medical students are often sexually harassed
Health care is an area rife for sexual harassment and that has not stopped even with greater attention being paid to the problem. Recent statistics were cited in encouraging accreditors to put a stop to these behaviors. Several reports were used to come to the conclusions.
One showed that almost 50% of females who were receiving advanced education for health care or medicine were sexually harassed at some point. Females were the targets of this behavior at an alarmingly high rate when compared to non-scientific professions. They had a 220% greater likelihood of being confronted with this form of mistreatment.
The American Medical Association has sought to address this issue by informing training programs of it amid the hope that their accreditation standards would by tied to those in positions of power stopping the harassment. There are standards in place for medical schools regarding mistreatment in general, including sexual harassment.
The schools are expected to have policies in place that allow victims to come forward with their complaints and expect a prompt and evenhanded response. They should not be fearful of retaliation if they report it.
Workers targeted for sexual harassment have rights
While these procedures are in place and schools and other training programs are supposed to be vigilant about sexual harassment, victims might still decide not to report the behavior due to concerns about how it might negatively impact their future.
It could range from sex-based comments, gestures, inappropriate jokes, attempts to coerces someone into a sexual relationship and unwanted touching. It is important for people to recognize the inherent behaviors and know they have options. This is true regardless of the profession a person is in, their level of education and their age.