Gateshead Health is one of hundreds of organisations to have signed the organisational charter for sexual safety in healthcare. The charter acknowledges and supports the notion that those who work, train and learn within the healthcare system have the right to be safe and feel supported at work. Our signature acts as commitment to tackling unwanted, inappropriate and/or harmful sexual behaviour in the workplace.

As signatories, we commit to a zero-tolerance approach to any unwanted, inappropriate andd/or harmful sexual behaviours towards and within our workforce. To achieve this, the organisation has to committed to a list of 10 principles and actions, and has recently launched its first sexual safety policy to reflect this.

Highlighting the issue, more than 35,000 incidents of sexual misconduct or violence, ranging from derogotary remarks to rape, were recorded on NHS premises in a five year period up until 2022. Elsewhere, staff survey data suggests that 1 in 26 NHS colleagues will have experienced this kind of harassment from a colleague. At Gateshead, our 2023 Staff Survey results revealed the 2.5% of staff had experienced unwanted behaviour of a sexual nature from colleagues – an unacceptable figure.

Anyone can be a victim of sexual misconduct, though it should be noted that this is an issue which disproprtionately impacts women, who are three times more likely to be a victim than a man.

This page exists to highlight the actions you can take if you have been the victim of a sexual misconduct, the most suitable reporting routes available to you and routes of support which may be of use to you.