Sexual Harassment in Radiology

Purpose To gauge the prevalence of sexual harassment (SH) and to understand the issues regarding its disclosure among radiologists. Methods A questionnaire on ethics and SH was sent by e-mail to 1,569 radiologists and radiology trainees in an institutional database maintained for continuing medical education purposes on three separate occasions between September 17 and October 31, 2016. The link to the survey was also posted on social media sites via the authors’ divisional and institutional accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Aunt Minnie, as well as on ACR and RSNA web blogs. Results Overall, 9.75% (39 of 400) respondents stated they had suffered SH, with more female (22 of 90 = 24.4%) than male victims (11 of 249 = 4.4%) (P <.001). Only 29.4% of SH victims said they would likely report SH (P <.001). Women (46 of 90 = 51.1%) said they were less likely to report SH than men (150 of 242 = 62.0%) (P =.03), and American medical school graduates (119 of 220 = 54.1%) were less likely than graduates from outside the United States (37 of 48 = 77.1%). Of 401 respondents to questions on SH, 28.7% (n = 115), including more women (38 of 91 = 41.8%) than men (61 of 249 = 24.5%) (P =.002), said they had witnessed SH. Conclusions By percentage responding, female radiologists are more frequently victims and witnesses of sexual harassment but are less likely to report such cases. Steps need to be taken to eliminate a culture that leads radiologists to tolerate SH without addressing it.