shared perspectives of an experienced doctor and a young intern on sexual violence

People are speaking out about sexual violence in hospitals, but are mentalities really changing? franceinfo collected the words of two generations of women: Hélène, a 52-year-old doctor and Sophie, a 24-year-old intern.

New meeting on hospital MeToo: Minister of Health Frédéric Valletoux receives orders from doctors and nurses, in particular, on Monday May 6. For the past month, people have spoken out, women have denounced verbal and physical attacks at the hospital, tolerated for decades under the guise of a tough and ribald attitude.

Does this so-called “rude” spirit still persist today? Are mentalities changing in hospitals? To find out, franceinfo interviewed two generations of women. Crossing perspectives: one is a 52-year-old doctor, the other a 24-year-old intern.

Now an anesthetist-resuscitator, Hélène realizes with hindsight that sometimes under the cover of humor, her male colleagues of all ages gave her a hard time 30 years ago, when she was a student at the hospital.

“Very concretely, my buttocks, my breasts were touched, like meat. It was a system that happened in full view of everyone.”

Hélène, 52-year-old doctor

at franceinfo

“Serious remarks, inappropriate gestures, stolen kisses, even (things) more serious, she adds. It was quite permanent and us girls, our job was to respond in a way that was not too unpleasant so as not to be ostracized too much. It went something like: ‘Thank you really for the attention you pay to my plastic, could you teach me something instead?’ It was a kind of constant negotiation, a gymnastics, to not take too much of a hand and at the same time, not to come across as stuck on duty, because that was the best way to ostracize yourself. It was part of the hospital environment, it was make or break, you had to deal with it.”

“Things are slowly changing”

This doctor also talks about those nights on call where the room door doesn’t close, the great teachers who think they can do anything. “There was one in particular, it was an octopus, it was all slimy, says Hélène. As soon as we passed within a certain area, we were absolutely certain to grab a hand, a caress, and seemingly nothing. This one, you especially had to avoid finding yourself in his office. And it’s only my 52-year-old self who says in retrospect that my butt was still pretty damn hot.”

The on-call mentality, sexual assaults in the hospital, what’s the point of talking about it 30 years later? “It’s important because it has to change, because ultimately we haven’t said anything all these years.” Hélène now welcomes all the medical students and all the interns by telling them: “At the slightest inappropriate comment or gesture, come and talk to me about it, we won’t let it happen”. And today’s girls don’t let this happen anymore, confirms Sophie, 24, an anesthesia-resuscitation intern next to her in Paris.

“Things are slowly changing, since everywhere I have been so far, we have been very aware of this.”

Sophie, 24-year-old intern

at franceinfo

“What is certain is that the group also gives strength. As we arrive as many women, the majority especially in our specialty, we are starting to be more numerous than the men. This allows us to have a greater collective response and to have power together, which is more difficult when you are alone.”

“They still have power”

She still remembers a remark at the table, in the canteen. “I’ll take you on the desk”quotes Sophie from memory. “I didn’t know what to say at that precise moment. It’s not always easy. Afterwards, you think about it and you say to yourself that there were a thousand and one good ways to answer it. Which is when even to point out and which is a little different from before, is that it made no one laugh. There were only men around the table, a slightly awkward silence followed. the rest continued without it ever being spoken of again.”

Mentalities are fortunately changing, believe Hélène and Sophie. “You are right in saying that the new generations of men who are arriving now, at least those who I see as interns, are generally irreproachable, aware of these issues, notes Hélène.

“The problem remains that you are still dealing with people of my generation, who have experienced this behavior as normal, and who have not necessarily seen morals evolve.”

Hélène, doctor

at franceinfo

“And they still have power, and often they are at the very top, she adds. It is to them that we also want to address today.” For Hélène and Sophie, this MeToo in the hospital, this freedom of speech, is a good thing, but this must be followed by sanctions against the attackers of yesterday and especially today.