Act One

Act Two

Chapter Three

Sexual harassment in medicine is almost universally perpetrated by men, and in over half of doctor-on-doctor cases, it happens in the workplace itself, not at a conference or a staff event. That is one of the findings from a decade of research by Dr Louise Stone, who began this work in 2014 after a young intern disclosed a sexual assault to her in consultation.

Dr Travis Brown speaks with Dr Louise Stone, a professor of general practice with expertise in doctors’ health, sexual safety and professionalism, about what her research uncovered.

Dr Stone identifies two distinct groups of perpetrators: persistent predators who choose careers with access to power, and a smaller group of senior doctors, often isolated by decades of on-call work, who form inappropriate attachments without the same pattern of repeat behaviour. She explains why junior doctors on rotating three-month terms are especially vulnerable, why specialties such as surgery, psychiatry and pathology carry disproportionate risk, and why zero tolerance policies tend to drive the problem underground rather than reduce it. She also sets out what she has found does help: peer intervention from someone at the same level of seniority as the person behaving badly, and giving survivors clarity on what they actually want from a reporting process, whether that is justice, protection of others, or simply healing.

What to listen for: The early warning signs Dr Stone flags for junior doctors and medical students, and why a colleague’s discomfort is worth naming rather than dismissing.

This is the story about sexual harassment in medicine.

Our Special Guest:

Dr Louise Stone is a professor of general practice, previous lead medical educator for GP training in Australia, and author of Sexual Harassment Between Doctors: Healing Medical Cultures Around the World, available from her website: https://www.drlouisestone.com

Listen:

This Medical Life podcast is available on all podcasting services, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and Spotify. Members of the RACGP are able to log the hours as CPD (Education) that they listen to the episodes under self record via Quick log. We invite you to help support us on our donation page.

Sexual harassment in medicine is almost universally perpetrated by men, and in over half of doctor-on-doctor cases, it happens in the workplace itself, not at a conference or a staff event. That is one of the findings from a decade of research by Dr Louise Stone, who began this work in 2014 after a young intern disclosed a sexual assault to her in consultation.
Dr Travis Brown speaks with Dr Louise Stone, a professor of general practice with expertise in doctors&rsquo; health, sexual safety and professionalism, about what her research uncovered.
Dr Stone identifies two distinct groups of perpetrators: persistent predators who choose careers with access to power, and a smaller group of senior doctors, often isolated by decades of on-call work, who form inappropriate attachments without the same pattern of repeat behaviour. She explains why junior doctors on rotating three-month terms are especially vulnerable, why specialties such as surgery, psychiatry and pathology carry disproportionate risk, and why zero tolerance policies tend to drive the problem underground rather than reduce it. She also sets out what she has found does help: peer intervention from someone at the same level of seniority as the person behaving badly, and giving survivors clarity on what they actually want from a reporting process, whether that is justice, protection of others, or simply healing.
What to listen for:&nbsp;The early warning signs Dr Stone flags for junior doctors and medical students, and why a colleague&rsquo;s discomfort is worth naming rather than dismissing.
This is the story about sexual harassment in medicine.
Our Special Guest:
Dr Louise Stone is a professor of general practice, previous lead medical educator for GP training in Australia, and author of&nbsp;<a href="https://link.amazon/B0aQCO38c">Sexual Harassment Between Doctors: Healing Medical Cultures Around the World</a>, available from her website:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.drlouisestone.com/">https://www.drlouisestone.com</a>
Listen:
This Medical Life podcast is available on all podcasting services,&nbsp;<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-medical-life/id1601195297">Apple Podcasts</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOxm-I73JjiBowEMp6JWxSA">YouTube</a>, and&nbsp;<a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/6K8MFiahgDLbYg5uelXS2w">Spotify</a>. Members of the RACGP are able to log the hours as&nbsp;<a href="https://thismedicallife.com.au/cpd-hours/" data-type="page" data-id="437">CPD (Education)</a>&nbsp;that they listen to the episodes under self record via Quick log.&nbsp;<a href="https://thismedicallife.com.au/buy/donation">We invite you to help support us on our donation page</a>.

Welcome to the This Medical Life podcast. Our mission is to share stories about the triumphs and tragedies of diseases and illnesses from ancient times up until what we know today. It is about those scientific and medical minds who came before us and how, every single day, we stand on the shoulders of giants. This is a podcast about the stories of medicine. Hosted by Dr. Travis Brown and Steve Davis, our target audience is General Practitioners, medical students, and other health professionals. We hope to educate, inspire and celebrate those who choose to care for others in their profession. From experience, we know that our audience extends beyond these fields and would like to welcome anyone to listen. The stories of those who came before us are nothing short of remarkable and we hope you enjoy them as much as we do. Production by Steve Davis

Welcome to the This Medical Life podcast. Our mission is to share stories about the triumphs and tragedies of diseases and illnesses from ancient times up until what we know today. It is about those scientific and medical minds who came before us and how, every single day, we stand on the shoulders of giants. This is a podcast about the stories of medicine. Hosted by Dr. Travis Brown and Steve Davis, our target audience is General Practitioners, medical students, and other health professionals. We hope to educate, inspire and celebrate those who choose to care for others in their profession. From experience, we know that our audience extends beyond these fields and would like to welcome anyone to listen. The stories of those who came before us are nothing short of remarkable and we hope you enjoy them as much as we do. Production by Steve Davis

This Medical Life

Welcome to the This Medical Life podcast. Our mission is to share stories about the triumphs and tragedies of diseases and illnesses from ancient times up until what we know today. It is about those scientific and medical minds who came before us and how, every single day, we stand on the shoulders of giants. This is a podcast about the stories of medicine.


Hosted by Dr. Travis Brown and Steve Davis, our target audience is General Practitioners, medical students, and other health professionals. We hope to educate, inspire and celebrate those who choose to care for others in their profession. From experience, we know that our audience extends beyond these fields and would like to welcome anyone to listen. The stories of those who came before us are nothing short of remarkable and we hope you enjoy them as much as we do.

Production by Tim Whiffen

Design by Tom Buzz

Dr Louise Stone on a decade of research into sexual harassment in medicine, why it persists, and what actually helps a colleague or trainee.