BY: CLAIRE KIM
“There are more women in these fields, yet there’s still sexual harassment,” says Dr. Hillman during an interview with New York Times. This is a pretty scary line.
If we think about it, this line is telling us that regardless of the increase in women in the medical field, sexual harassment does not come to an end or show the slightest decrease. What may seem as if only male students are the problem, can be derided by the fact that the staff and patients are prime factors for the uprising of sexual harassment in this field as well. In fact, with a greater increase in women who are showing interest in medical employment, it would quite honestly make sense for more women to be sexually assaulted because the target number would have increased.
Apparently, over 40% of female medical students experience sexual harassment in comparison to other females who work under science or engineering fields in the technology industry. Almost half of the female population in the medical field could argue that they have been a victim of sexual abuse in their facilities which is not a great sign.
With this issue not being extinguished for over the past few years, the future of female students to win this battle of sexual harassment seems pretty bleak. Solutions for this issue are not that simple because the perpetrators are mainly from individuals who seem pretty foreign, unlike male students that have studied with them and may easier to communicate with.
It’s really sad to hear how some females are starting to even lose interest in pursuing a medical career because they fear the possibility of being attacked.
In my opinion, sexual harassment will never go away unless society finds some way to stop men (or even women) from finding the innate desire of humankind. There is no definite answer because no one can be perfect and innocent as it’s part of growing up as an adult. I think the #metoo movement is a great start, but to make a more impactful change, universities should educate their students about the consequences and humiliation sexual assault brings and how respecting each other’s dignity is important as a member of society.
claire kim. 