Protecting Your Team from Patient Sexual Harassment

by Ray Foxworth, D.C., FICC • 

President & Founder, ChiroHealthUSA • 

Sexual harassment sadly occurs in every profession with staff members suffering serious and often long-term effects. Few branches of healthcare are as physically intimate by necessity as chiropractic. The professionals in this field face a pronounced risk of falling victim to inappropriate patient behavior and thus have an added responsibility in tackling it. Until the birth of the #metoo movement, sexual harassment by patients and their families in healthcare was a widely kept secret. A 2018 Medscape study surveyed 6235 health care providers and found that 27% of physicians were sexually harassed by patients whereas only 7% were sexually harassed by clinicians, medical personnel, or administrators at their workplace. (Notaro, Pascoe, Shinohara, & DeNiro, 2020) Which begs the question, why do we spend so much time in ethics classes discussing why providers should not harass their teams and their patients and not training providers on how to protect everyone within the practice from unwanted advances from patients?

The Silent Side of Two-Fold Sexual Harassment

Victims of this abuse often stay quiet for several reasons. They may be in shock. They may be ashamed since it was a violation of their boundaries which they may not feel comfortable sharing with others. They may fear not being believed (or worse, being viewed as complicit) or possibly somehow losing their job because of speaking up.

Sexual harassment doesn’t always take the form of inappropriate questions, suggestions, comments, or propositions related to desired physical contact. Your staff could experience harmful and persecuting behavior from patients due to their gender identity. Female or male staff members may encounter misogynistic or misandrist attitudes respectively, while a member of the LGBTQIAA2S+ community could be persecuted for their preferences, principles, or appearance.

You must protect your staff by being aware of those two basic definitions of harassment and taking action to reduce the chances of either occurring. Next, you must mitigate the effects by ensuring your team is heard if they speak up, and that steps are taken to improve the chances of offenders being held accountable.

How to Shield Your Team from Patient Sexual Harassment

The first step is to create a culture of trust and support. Staff members need to know they can, and should, share any patient behavior they feel qualifies as sexual harassment whether they experienced it firsthand or witnessed it. Assure them that there will be no negative repercussions on how they’ll be treated at work and that every complaint will be respected and investigated.

Next, draft and distribute a sexual harassment plan. This should clarify incident definitions and detail how (and to whom) staff members can report them. This exemplar from the Society for Human Resource Management offers a strong template that can be tailored to fit. Your plan should let employees know what kind of actions will be taken to protect them, such as:

• Having a harassment officer speak to the patient regarding their conduct.
• Assigning a third party to always be present during a harassing patient’s treatments.
• Ending the patient’s relationship with your office. (Check with your state association and malpractice insurance carrier for how to legally dismiss a patient from your office.)
• Seeking advice and guidance from law enforcement in line with the severity of the issue.

In 2014, a study was published on the sexual victimization of men, finding that men were much more likely to be the victims of sexual abuse than was thought. (Stemple & Meyer, 2014) The common one-dimensional stereotype of women as victims reinforces outdated gender stereotypes. The assumption that men are always perpetrators and never victims reinforces unhealthy ideas about men. These stereotypes all too often make male victims feel too embarrassed to report. Bear in mind the delicacy of gender issues when it comes to staff members reporting incidents. A male may find it impossible to confide in a female that they were sexually harassed and vice versa.

Remember: the fallout for victims of sexual harassment can be immense and impact their ability to function personally and professionally. Compassion, patience, and encouragement are essential from employers to help team members heal and recover.

Get Visual to Promote Safer Spaces

Place visual material such as posters, signs, or on-screen notices in your waiting and practice areas stating that no form of sexual harassment will be tolerated against staff members. Include clear definitions of what constitutes harassment in these materials to make sure everyone is on the same page.

You may also wish to install security cameras in places that won’t trigger a HIPAA violation (here’s how to do that correctly). Cameras add an extra layer of comfort for staff members and could provide valuable evidence in identifying, confronting, and potentially prosecuting a harasser.

It’s every employer’s duty to shield and empower their team. ChiroHealthUSA is dedicated to protecting your practice and your team. April is Sexual Harassment Awareness Month, and we will be hosting a webinar on protecting your practice from patient sexual harassment on April 5, 2022, at 2:15 PM EDT. Click here to register!