VIDEO. Women doctors and nurses talk about sexism in the workplace

“It’s easy to put a hand on your ass in the operating room, yes! Because we are all glued to each other. And then: ‘Ah well, your blouse, it came down!’ And poof!“This is what women working in the medical world can experience. This sexist and sexual violence affects them regardless of their status, whether they are doctors, surgeons, nurses, or trainees. But they dare not speak out for fear of the consequences. “I once had a surgeon ask the question, ‘Is it okay in bed with you?’ He was putting this down during the block. And you, you don’t really know what to answer. You’re a little impressed. You are afraid that your internship will be invalidated.”

“I was on a neurology rotation and it was a patient who needed to have a lumbar puncture. A lumbar puncture, me, as a trainee, my role was to hold it to have the back well curved, so that the doctor can be between the vertebrae and that the patient does not move. I had to hold him but give him a hug. And in fact, he took the opportunity to touch my breasts and touch my butt too. A lumbar puncture really doesn’t require the patient to move. So in fact, I said nothing for the smooth running of the treatment. And when the treatment ended, I told the team about it and they asked me if I liked”, reports a young woman.

But this violence is often minimized by practitioners. “If ever we find this type of sexist joke or comments of a sexual nature, doctors will potentially defend themselves with the invocation of this rifle culture. ‘Carabin’ has become the term used to designate medical students. And suddenly, this carabineer humor would be to make gravelly, ribald jokes with a sexual connotation in the hospital environment. It would allow them to emotionally manage the situations they face”, explains another caregiver.