Prevalence of sexual harassment during undergraduate medical internship in Mexico City

Abstract

Introduction: Medical formation comprises contents and practices executed in spaces with hierarchized structures that might propitiate mistreatment conducts. Sexual harassment is a relevant problem that, according to some studies, has a high prevalence and important impact on professional and labor development.

Objective: To identify the prevalence and modalities of sexual harassment among undergraduate medical interns of a university in Mexico City.

Method: An observational, descriptive cross-sectional study in which a survey was applied to document the prevalence of sexual harassment, its modalities, the career dropout expectations, its impact on performance, and social support systems. Statistical analysis was conducted to calculate simple frequencies, prevalences, association (OR, Chi-square), and statistical significance.

Results: A prevalence of 83% was found for sexual harassment, mostly among women (89.4%). The most common modalities were unwanted physical contact (66,1%), staring and sexual gestures (66,1%), and catcalling or unwanted commentaries (57,6%). Differences by sex were important, affecting mostly women, with differences ranging from 13.9% to 26%. Sex was strongly associated with harassment in general and to most of the particular modalities (OR 1.8-2.6), unlike the number of modalities. A notable impact on academic performance was not observed, but social support systems play an important role in career dropout expectations.

Conclusions: Medical formation shows a severe harassment problem, especially among female students.