A senior surgeon in Australia has triggered controversy after telling junior female doctors to go along with sexual abuse at work for the sake of their careers. The Independent reports that vascular surgeon Dr Gabrielle McMullin drew criticism for comments made at the launch of her book, Pathways to Gender Equality. Speaking after the event, she said she encouraged women in her field to protect their climb up the professional ladder by "complying with requests" for sex.
The Sydney-based surgeon said sexism is so rife among her colleagues, young women should probably just accept unwanted sexual advances because speaking out would tarnish their reputations. McMullin, who studied medicine in Dublin, Ireland, said she stands by the comments but that her advice was "irony". And McMullin warns complaining to the supervising body is the "worst thing" trainees could do.
Her shocking comments triggered angry reactions from sex abuse and domestic violence campaigners, who claimed her remarks were "appalling" and "irresponsible”. Her comments have also been roundly criticised by others in the medical profession but she said many people had thanked her for speaking out and some had come forward with more appalling stories of their experiences. She said her critics had misunderstood her stance.
"Of course I don't condone any form of sexual harassment and the advice that I gave to potential surgical trainees was irony, but unfortunately that is the truth at the moment, that women do not get supported if they make a complaint," she said. "And that's where the problem is, so what I'm suggesting is that we need a solution for that problem not to condone that behaviour."
[link url="http://www.independent.co.uk/incoming/top-australian-surgeon-sparks-outrage-as-she-advises-female-doctors-to-allow-sexual-harassment-to-get-ahead-10096301.html"]Full report in The Independent[/link]