RCPSG Sexual Misconduct workshop

A workshop has been developed to tackle sexual misconduct in healthcare using Active Bystander techniques. The workshop has been developed by two Scottish Clinical Leadership Fellows, surgeon Anna Bleakley and dentist Katharine Dunn, and is believed to be the first of its kind.

The project has been supported by the fellow’s host organisation, the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, and has been supervised by Professor Christine Goodall, Vice President (Dental), and Dean of the College’s Faculty of Dental Surgery. The workshop is now being run as a joint initiative with NHS Education for Scotland.

The workshop was developed in response to the Working Party of Sexual Misconduct in Surgery Report published in September 2023, which showed that over 80% of people working in surgery have witnessed a colleague being the target of sexual misconduct and 3 in 10 women working in surgery have been sexually assaulted by a colleague. While these figures are shocking, it is sadly an issue that permeates the whole health service.

These reports, as well as hundreds of testimonies published on the Surviving in Scrubs website, tell of repeated abuses of power, institutional misogyny, deep harm caused to the workforce and patients along with inadequate reporting systems. We wouldn’t accept this behaviour towards our children, partners, or friends. So why tolerate it when a colleague is the target?

In the workshop we explore the bystander effect—the social phenomenon of not offering help to a person in distress when other people are present, even when we know harm has been done. We talk about elements of our culture in healthcare that may contribute to this effect and how to overcome the barriers to speaking up using active bystander techniques. Attendees then have an opportunity to put these newly acquired skills into practice in a simulated setting, with emphasis on psychological safety throughout.

The workshop has received excellent feedback so far and will be held monthly at the RCPSG in Glasgow’s city center. At a cost of £15 we hope it will be accessible to as many people as possible, with all levels, professions and specialties being welcome.

The next date with availability is Wednesday, 26 November. This will be followed by training for anyone who would like to become a facilitator on 16 December. There will be more workshops available to attend in 2026, dates yet to be confirmed. 

For booking details or to find out more, please visit the event page:

https://rcpsg.ac.uk/education/active-bystander-training-for-tackling-sexual-misconduct-in-healthcare

Or contact the workshop creators:

Anna Bleakley anna.bleakley2@nhs.scot
Katharine Dunn katharine.dunn@nhs.scot