By D. Maan, Jadetimes News
The alarming security risks faced by female doctors in India's public hospitals
Introduction
After a long day at one of India's oldest hospitals, a 31 year old female trainee doctor sought slumber in a seminar hall early on a Friday morning. Unfortunately, it was the last time she was seen alive. The next morning, her half naked body was discovered on the podium, severely injured. This horrifying crime occurred at Kolkata's 138 year old RG Kar Medical College, and a hospital volunteer worker has subsequently been detained in connection with what authorities are calling a rape and murder case.
This act aroused significant outrage, prompting a 'Reclaim the Night' march in Kolkata and throughout West Bengal. The march, which will take place at midnight on Wednesday, shortly before India's Independence Day, aims to demand the right to live freely and without fear. Outraged physicians across India have gone on strike, demanding tighter government rules to safeguard them.
Violence against medical professionals
The sad tragedy at RG Kar Medical College has once again brought to light the disturbing levels of violence against medical personnel in India. Reports of assaults on doctors, regardless of gender, have been increasingly regular, with female doctors and nurses who account for approximately 30% of India's doctors and 80% of its nursing staff being especially susceptible.
The crime at the Kolkata hospital has highlighted the serious security dangers that medical professionals confront in many of India's state run health facilities. At RG Kar Medical College, which serves over 3,500 patients daily, trainee doctors frequently work up to 36 hours without a dedicated rest place, forcing them to sleep in temporary settings such as seminar rooms.
According to reports, the suspect, a volunteer with a difficult past, had unfettered access to the hospital wards and was seen on CCTV. Alarmingly, no background checks were done on the volunteer, raising concerns about the hospital's security protocols.
Unsafe Work Environments for Women Doctors
Female doctors in India's government hospitals confront dangerous working circumstances, which have been well documented. Madhuparna Nandi, a junior doctor at Kolkata's National Medical College, expressed her concern and shock, adding, "The hospital has always been our first home; we only go home to relax. We never realised it could be so dangerous. We are now afraid as a result of this occurrence." Dr. Nandi's experience is not uncommon. Female doctors frequently operate in settings that lack basic security precautions, such as designated facilities and separate toilets. They are sometimes forced to sleep in patient beds or tiny waiting rooms for extended shifts.
Dr. Nandi had a horrifying encounter in 2021, during the peak of the COVID 19 pandemic, when men barged into her bed and woke her up by caressing her, demanding that she attend their patient. This episode shocked her, and she never dreamed it would grow to the point where a doctor was raped and murdered in a hospital.
This isn't an isolated case. One of the most well-known incidents is that of Aruna Shanbaug, a nurse at a prestigious Mumbai hospital who was left in a permanent vegetative state after being raped and strangled by a ward attendant in 1973. Shanbaug suffered with this disease till her death in 2015. In Kerala, a 23 year old medical intern named Vandana Das was tragically stabbed by a drunken patient last year.
Challenges in overcrowded government hospitals
Overcrowding in government hospitals, combined with uncontrolled access, creates a volatile situation in which doctors frequently receive threats from patients' families following death or when rapid treatment is required. Anaesthetist Dr. Kamna Kakkar described a terrifying occurrence that occurred during a night shift in an intensive care unit (ICU) during the pandemic in 2021. She was the lone doctor in the ICU when three men bearing a politician's name barged in and demanded a prohibited substance. She cooperated with their requests out of fear for her own safety and the well being of her patients.
Dr. Namrata Mitra, a pathologist in Kolkata who attended RG Kar Medical College, spoke of feeling uncomfortable during her medical training. She frequently had her doctor father accompany her to work because she was concerned about her safety. "Everyone laughed, but I had to sleep in a room tucked away in a long, dark corridor with a locked iron gate that only the nurse could open if a patient arrived," said Dr. Mitra in a recent social media post.
Dr. Mitra also talked about her time working in a public health centre in West Bengal, where she spent the nights in a decaying doctor's dormitory. She recalled how groups of boys would congregate around the building, making sexual remarks and attempting to engage with female doctors under false pretences. She was grabbed by an intoxicated man while working an emergency shift at a government hospital. When she tried to report the event, she discovered the police officers asleep with their pistols drawn.
Systemic Issues and Lack of Protection
The situation has deteriorated over time, according to Dr. Saraswati Datta Bodhak, a pharmacologist at a government hospital in West Bengal's Bankura district. She expressed alarm for her daughters, both young doctors, who report that anti social elements, drunks, and touts had taken over hospital campuses across the state. Dr. Bodhak remembers visiting a prominent government hospital in Kolkata and seeing a man openly carrying a rifle.
India currently lacks a strong federal statute to safeguard healthcare workers. Although 25 states have passed laws to protect violence against medical personnel, prosecutions are uncommon. According to RV Asokan, president of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), a 2015 poll revealed that 75% of doctors in India had experienced workplace violence. "Security in hospitals is almost nonexistent," Asokan stated. "One reason is that nobody thinks of hospitals as conflict zones."
Some governments, such as Haryana, have attempted to boost security by stationing private bouncers at government hospitals. In 2022, the federal government proposed that states deploy specialised security forces for sensitive hospitals, install CCTV cameras, establish quick response teams, and restrict access to "undesirable individuals." However, there has been little success in putting these policies into action.
The unfortunate occurrence at RG Kar Medical College has revived the discussion about medical workers' safety and security in India. Despite repeated requests for reform, doctors' working conditions, particularly for female doctors, continue to be dangerous. As protests continue and calls for better legal protections mount, the question remains: Will healthcare workers' safety finally become a priority, or will tragedies like this continue to occur with impunity?
