#HealthToo Project
5 September 2022
Nearly two thirds of 330,000 health workers surveyed across a range of countries reported exposure to work-related violence and harassment (WRVH) in a single year, according to the Journal for Occupational and Environmental Medicine. However a lack of disaggregated of the data means that we don’t know how much of this relates to Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Harassment. We do know from various reports such as the Independent Commission on sexual abuse during the Ebola response in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and from whistleblower stories in the media that women health professionals are exposed to abuse from their colleagues, superiors, patients, patient family members, and others in the community.
The severity and form of the problem for women health professionals varies in different contexts–particularly those in conflict and humanitarian contexts–but can be found in all areas of the sector. After holding two town halls, communicating with dozens of other CSOs and hearing from hundreds of women, it is clear that despite promises of reform, decision makers are not moving fast enough to ensure protection for workers.
In response, we have launched a new platform and research project entitled “#HealthToo” to seek, compile and document stories from women health workers who have experienced work-related SEAH. By submitting their stories anonymously, women will be able to share their experiences freely without risking job security or personal repercussions in their place of work.
The #HealthToo project aims to address the absence of data and provide information and analysis on the scale and type of SEAH as a way to make workplace abuse visible and drive the necessary policy reform to end it. It will be a safe space for all women in the health sector to share their experiences in any language and be part of the global movement against SEAH in global health.
