They were touched and harassedMedical students unpack! Sex assaults at the doctors' summit

According to participants, sexual harassment occurred at the German Doctors' Day in Hanover. According to the Lower Saxony Medical Association, a group of medical students reported abusive behavior on site in a speech on Friday. According to the chamber, they made comments about their appearance, their cleavage, hands on their buttocks and backs, invitations to hotel rooms and sexist conversation situations.

The German Medical Association confirmed the information. “It is true that medical students reported abusive behavior at the Doctors’ Day yesterday,” the chamber said in response to a request from the German Press Agency. The Federal Representation of Medical Students in Germany, whose delegation the students were part of, also confirmed the events.

The “Deutsche Ärzteblatt” published the entire statement from the five students. “Comments about our pretty appearance are inappropriate. Comments about our cleavage are inappropriate. Hands on backs and buttocks are inappropriate,” it said. “Invitations to hotel rooms or private homes are inappropriate.” All of this happened in the past few days.

With their statement, the students wanted to point out that this was a “systemic problem”. The harassment they describe is not an isolated incident. According to “Ärzteblatt”, the students received applause from the audience after their speech.

According to the German Medical Association, “an intensive debate followed at the Doctors' Day about abuse of power and border crossings in the healthcare system”. German Medical Association President Klaus Reinhardt made it unmistakably clear that border crossings and sexual violence – whether verbal or physical – fundamentally contradict the values ​​of the medical profession.

According to the “Ärzteblatt” report, Reinhardt expressed his deep regret to those affected during the event. “It is deeply disturbing and we will work to clarify the incidents,” the trade magazine quoted him as saying.

The President of the Lower Saxony Medical Association, Marion Charlotte Renneberg, was affected and horrified. “The descriptions of the colleagues and students left me deeply shocked and speechless,” she said, according to the statement. “It is absolutely unacceptable that women's dignity is violated in this way by reducing them to their appearance. We cannot tolerate sexual harassment and even physical assault. Such behavior is incompatible with medical professional ethics.”

According to the Lower Saxony Medical Association, abuse of power, sexual violence and discrimination should be the core topic of the upcoming Doctors' Day in 2027. The German Medical Association announced that its board would address the issue and develop clear compliance requirements and comprehensive protection concepts.

At the beginning of May, a member survey by the Marburger Bund doctors' union in Lower Saxony revealed that “abuse of power, humiliation and sexual harassment by colleagues” are part of everyday working life for many doctors in Lower Saxony. 11 percent of those surveyed reported sexual harassment by medical employees at work in the past twelve months, and 44 percent reported abuse of power.

Sources used: hvo/dpa