Violence against doctors: 37 percent affected by Vienna - urgent need for action!

Violence against doctors: 37 percent affected by Vienna - urgent need for action!

In Vienna, a disturbing trend becomes visible: An alarming survey shows that 37 percent of doctors in the city are regularly victims of violence. These results, which were initially published by Volksblatt.at was confronted. It is urgently alarming that 16 percent of doctors also had to experience physical violence. The violence events come mainly from patients and their relatives. According to Medical Chamber President Johannes Steinhart, the reasons for this are primarily long waiting times, overcrowded practices and lack of personnel that favor a general increase in aggression in society.

increasing number of violence in women in Europe

In the meantime, a new study by the European Fundamental Rights Agency shows alarming figures on violence against women in the EU. According to dw.com , almost every third woman in the EU has experienced physical or psychological violence, whereby the situation in countries such as Finland and Sweden is worst where the numbers are over 50 percent. Only a fraction of those affected report the incidents, which indicates great stigma and possible shame in view of these experiences of violence. The Berlin women's rights expert Carlien Scheele emphasizes that social norms often lead to victims to blame, which further increases the number of unreported cases.

It is particularly frightening that 19.3 percent of women surveyed gives information to have experienced physical or sexual violence through their partner. This situation urges political solutions, similar to Steinhart's demands to improve the protection of doctors in health facilities. Together, the company must take measures to reduce violence in medical professions and to hear the affected women in their struggle against gender -specific violence.