On social media, healthcare workers are the targets of increasingly worrying acts of intimidation and violence. This cyberbullying has even grown to unsuspected proportions in recent months. We talk about racism, anti-Semitism, misogyny, disturbing threats of physical assault and even death threats. Even if this wave of hatred that is sweeping is carried by a tiny part of society, a minority one would say, it is progressing, it is gaining ground and it sows worry, anguish and even fear in the people who we protect every day.
In addition, these same health professionals are exposed to harassment in their workplaces. At the end of the summer, there were reports of increasingly virulent demonstrations where people blocked access to care for patients, insulted workers, even going so far as to threaten them physically.
We must act … and quickly
We can no longer pretend to ignore these faults. We cannot allow the deplorable behavior of some people to become an acceptable standard. This reinforces the discouragement of healthcare workers at a time when everyone is needed more than ever. It cannot be the legacy of this heavy pandemic. For doctors and healthcare workers to be intimidated or harassed just for doing their job is simply unacceptable.
That is why we are asking for clear actions to ensure the protection of those who protect and care for us every day.
The right of expression and demonstration is not contested. Rather, we seek to prevent tragedies and avoid making the unacceptable acceptable. While there are laws in our Criminal Code that aim to prevent hate and harassment and there are membership requirements on digital platforms, it has become clear that this is not enough.
We must develop a culture of accountability and collective responsibility to put an end to these extremist movements which feel emboldened by the absence of consequences. The federal government is committed to creating modules to better protect healthcare workers, and we strongly encourage them.
As for social networks, they have a more active role to play in controlling the content that is published on their platform. They must take a firm stand against disinformation by putting an end to the promotion of this content by their algorithms. They also have an important role to play in the fight against violence and cyberbullying, it is time they join the rest of society in this fight.
Since the start of the pandemic, healthcare workers have never let us down. They protected us at all costs. Moreover, since the start of the pandemic, more than forty have fallen in combat while fulfilling their duty to protect and care for Canadians. It’s our turn to do the same for them. It is our turn to act bravely, because protecting those who protect us is more than a simple duty: it is a collective responsibility that we must all assume.