The BMA has been working to raise awareness of sexism and sexual violence in medicine. Our Sexism in medicine survey revealed that 91% of female doctors had experienced sexism in the workplace, leading to the creation of the ‘Ending sexism in medicine’ pledge. Building on this, we are now turning the spotlight onto medical education.

In partnership with Surviving in Scrubs, the BMA medical students committee ran a self-selective survey open to all UK medical students, from 25 March to 22 April 2025. It received 968 valid responses, with 79% of respondents identifying as female.

We would like to thank everyone who took part for their courage in sharing their lived experiences. Our findings are deeply concerning, and confirm there remains much to do to tackle sexism and sexual misconduct in medical education.

Read the report

The report and our summary include statistics and stories relating to sexual violence which readers may find distressing.

Sexism at medical school and on placement

84% of students said sexism is a problem in medical education, with 73% of females having experienced it themselves. Incidents typically involved sexist jokes and innuendos, and comments based on gender stereotypes.

Shockingly, the majority of these incidents were perpetrated by doctors – including senior clinicians and those in educational roles. Some actively steered female students away from specific career pathways due to beliefs around lack of physical strength, attitudes towards children or family planning.

I had a top male surgeon tell me to stay at home, marry rich and become a housewife

Medical student

69% of female medical students had experienced sexism specifically on clinical placement, and many found access to training opportunities depended on gender.

…some surgeons in this hospital have a tendency to let the male students scrub in and give them more opportunities in surgery but don’t let the female students

Medical student

For 43% of respondents, these experiences impacted their intended choice of medical specialty.

Medical schools and placement providers are obligated by the GMC and Medical Schools Council to ensure students have a valuable educational experience, with fair learning opportunities and an inclusive training culture. Our findings call this into question and reinforce the need for change.

Prevalence of sexual harassment and assault

An alarming 41% of female respondents had experienced sexual harassment or assault at university. The details are bleak. Reports range from non-consensual physical contact and sexual comments to criminal sexual offences including rape or assault by penetration, sexual assault and drink spiking. The criminal sexual offences were predominantly carried out by other students.

A fellow medical student touched me in intimate areas on a night out without consent. I felt unable to say the words “stop that” but I froze and cried and was clearly uncomfortable

Medical student

This behaviour is deplorable and underscores the urgent need for greater education for all students, alongside robust reporting procedures and meaningful sanctions to deter inappropriate conduct.

Reporting procedures and sanctions

Reporting sexual violence requires profound courage. Sadly, medical schools’ reporting and investigatory procedures are inadequate and unfit for purpose – often failing to hold perpetrators to account.

67% of respondents had not reported the incidents of sexism and sexual violence they experienced – commonly citing a lack of trust in university procedures or fear of negative repercussions on their careers, including accusations of poor professionalism.

Of those who did report it, 75% were dissatisfied with the outcome. This is unsurprising given that many institutions failed to separate alleged sexual predators from their victims – putting many survivors in unsafe positions and emboldening perpetrators to reoffend without consequence. 

Some universities were actively complicit in perpetuating the problem: one encouraged students to ignore misconduct, and another discouraged them from escalating their concerns to the police to avoid reputational damage to the institution.

Following investigation into several incidents of sexual harassment and violence by a medical student towards other medical students, our medical school has allowed him to return. They have put him on placement in the same hospital as his victims

Medical student

I was scared of going to lectures and team based learning activities or even doing classes in small groups online because the perpetrator was often allocated to my group. It caused a lot of distress and anger because I kept asking to change group and this never happened

Medical student

These findings reflect a pervasive pattern of institutional neglect. Current investigatory mechanisms are flawed – they do little to prevent future incidents, fail to safeguard victims and therefore do not give students the confidence to report. We must confront these systemic issues and ensure survivors are at the core of reporting systems and investigations.

Recommendations

It is essential that all medical students receive a meaningful education on sexism, misogyny, relationships, consent, and sexual violence. This should not be a tick-box exercise but a means of empowering these students to recognise, report and call out harmful behaviours in academic, professional and personal settings.

We are also calling for institutional reform. Medical schools’ reporting and investigatory procedures must include multiple accessible channels for reporting, adhere to national standards and effectively hold perpetrators accountable. Survivors’ testimonies highlight the need to introduce anonymous reporting routes, the absence of which can have serious implications.

I was told it might reflect poorly on my professionalism if I told the medical school I had been assaulted by another student but refused to reveal their identity. There was no way to anonymously report this, and I felt too scared to report it non-anonymously. I later ended up in classes with my assaulter

Medical student

Reporting must be handled in a way that is transparent and trauma-informed. It is imperative that victims are not only separated from perpetrators but are provided with dedicated support necessary to safeguard their wellbeing. 

On a wider level, we are calling for the Government to introduce legislation that imposes a statutory duty of care on universities for their students – making them legally accountable in preventing harm and protecting student wellbeing.

We’re also advocating for clinicians to be given training and for professional boundaries to be enforced on placement, to ensure medical students receive the same protections from sexual violence as staff. We recognise and welcome the ongoing efforts in the NHS to address these problems, but they remain deeply concerning.

Read the report for our recommendations in full.

These results reveal an uncomfortable truth: the perpetrators are patients and doctors, but also other students, especially in incidents of sexual assault and harassment. It is clear that there is an urgent need for targeted action, to tackle the problem at both its individual and institutional roots.

Erin Maccabe and Gerald Herman are BMA medical students committee deputy co-chairs for welfare