On August 8, 2024, a 31-year-old female trainee doctor in Kolkata, India, was raped and murdered near the end of a 36-hour hospital shift. A male civic volunteer has been arrested, sparking outrage and leading the Indian Medical Association (IMA) to call for a national strike. While this crime highlights the broader issue of violence against health workers—62% of whom globally experience some form of workplace violence—it also underscores the often overlooked issue of violence against women, particularly female health workers.

This incident is not just an attack on a health worker, but also a brutal act of misogyny. Female health workers face a higher prevalence of workplace violence than their male counterparts, ranging from verbal abuse and bullying to sexual harassment, in addition to extreme cases like this. Factors contributing to this vulnerability include high-pressure hospital environments, mental health challenges, and unsociable working hours. While women make up 67% of the global health workforce, the risks they face are far more complex than their numerical overrepresentation suggests.1

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References

  1. Lancet, N. (2024). The structural roots of violence against female health workers. The Lancet, 404(10456), 907. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(24)01864-6

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