The contextual issues associated with sexual harassment experiences reported by registered nurses

Abstract

Objective: The study aimed to explore contextual conditions in Australian health care workplaces that make sexbased and sexual harassment (SB&SH) a relatively common experience for registered nurses (RNs). Design: Unstructured, in-depth interviews with a convenience sample of Australian RNs. Participants: The informants were 16 RNs (15 female and one male), working in health care, who were students enrolled in advanced tertiary preparation in nursing, counselling, and health care management at an Australian university. Main outcome measure(s): Experiences described by the interview informants identified four conditions present in their workplace when they experienced SB&SH. Results: Informants noted: 1) the silence that surrounds harassment; 2) that they could not expect support from their peers and professional colleagues; 3) that education did not exist in their workplaces regarding (SB&SH); and, 4) that traditional stereotypes associated with RNs were closely linked to the experience of harassment in the workplace. Conclusions: Inadequate coverage of workplace issues related to (SB&SH) in undergraduate or postgraduate educational programs were identified.