- Over half of female doctors report workplace harassment: Study
- Wards identified as primary sites of misconduct
- Lack of staff and security leaves doctors exposed
- Safety reforms yet to translate into real protection
- Rural postings heighten isolation and risk
At around 6.30 p.m. on 14 April, while the country was celebrating Sinhala and Tamil New Year, a young intern doctor walked into Ward No. 22 at the Nagoda Teaching Hospital to check a patient’s blood pressure.
According to her complaint, the patient she was examining had reached out and touched her inappropriately. She had warned him and said she would report it, but when she returned to continue her duties, she alleged that it had happened again.
On 15 April, the Acting Magistrate of Kalutara ordered that the suspect be remanded until 27 April.
For many within Sri Lanka’s medical community, however, the shock was not the incident itself but how familiar it felt. The incident drew renewed attention to the safety of healthcare workers in Sri Lanka, with medical professionals and researchers warning that sexual harassment within clinical settings is both pervasive and systemically under-addressed.
The case, involving the alleged assault of a female doctor while on duty, triggered strong condemnation alongside calls for urgent policy reforms. Doctors also highlighted that the incident reflected a broader pattern of insecurity within hospitals, raising concerns about the protection of both staff and patients across the country’s healthcare system.
Widespread harassment of female doctors
The incident comes against the backdrop of a recent study published in The Lancet Regional Health – Southeast Asia, which highlighted the scale and severity of sexual harassment faced by female medical professionals in Sri Lanka.
Titled ‘Us too: sexual harassment of female doctors in Sri Lanka,’ the study was authored by Dr. Manudi Vidanapathirana of the National Hospital of Sri Lanka, Dr. Kalani Kulathilaka of the District General Hospital, Negombo, and Dr. Santhushya Fernando from the University of Colombo. The study surveyed 377 female doctors using a cross-sectional approach in 2024.
The findings revealed that 58.6% of participants (n=221) had experienced some form of sexual harassment during their medical careers, spanning a wide range of behaviours. Among these, 50.3% reported receiving suggestive looks, while 42.7% said they had been subjected to sexual jokes and 34.7% to sexual remarks.
More serious forms of misconduct were also documented, with 18.3% (n=69) reporting inappropriate touching and 7.9% (n=30) stating they had been secretly watched in private quarters or on-call rooms. The study further recorded instances of severe sexual violence, with 2.1% of respondents reporting attempted rape and 1.32% reporting completed rape.
The study identified hospital wards as the most common location for harassment (60.1%), followed by operating theatres (29.4%). Perpetrators ranged across professional hierarchies and included patients, although the majority of incidents involved male perpetrators.
Researchers also pointed to a phenomenon of ‘pseudo-normalisation,’ where victims often hesitate to classify incidents as harassment due to their frequency or perceived acceptance among peers. Many respondents described such behaviour as an unavoidable part of being a woman in the profession, rather than a violation of rights.
The authors argued that these patterns reflected entrenched patriarchal power structures and hierarchical dynamics within South Asian societies, stressing that professional status did not shield female doctors from vulnerability at any time, in any place, or from any individual within the workplace.
They called for immediate policy intervention, including the introduction of confidential, victim-friendly reporting mechanisms and a broader cultural shift to ensure accountability.
GMOA flags systemic failures
The Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) strongly condemned the Nagoda incident, warning that it reflected deeper security shortcomings within the healthcare system.
GMOA Spokesperson Dr. Chamil Wijesinghe described the incident as tragic, noting that the doctor had been carrying out her professional duties at the time. “It is an extremely unfortunate situation that there is a tendency to do such a thing to a doctor who came to treat one’s illness or to save one’s life.”
He emphasised that the doctor had been attending to patients in her ward when the assault had occurred, highlighting the vulnerability of healthcare workers even within clinical environments.
Commenting on the response, Dr. Wijesinghe said law enforcement authorities, in coordination with hospital administration, promptly arrested the suspect, who has since been remanded. However, he stressed the importance of ensuring due process was followed.
“The GMOA expects that the legal process will continue until a final decision is reached, ensuring that justice is served,” he said.
Recurring security concerns in hospitals
Dr. Wijesinghe maintained that the incident was not isolated: “This is not the first time such an incident has taken place. There have been multiple instances that raise serious concerns about the safety of both staff and patients within hospital environments.”
He also referred to a previous shooting incident involving a patient at the same hospital, warning that such occurrences highlight ongoing risks. According to him, these vulnerabilities are exacerbated during festive periods, when large groups entering hospital premises may engage in disruptive or threatening behaviour.
A key structural issue identified was the absence of assistant health staff during patient examinations, leaving doctors, particularly women, exposed. “A doctor should have assistant health staff when examining a patient,” Dr. Wijesinghe said. “The lack of such assistant health staff has led doctors and health staff to face these incidents.”
Calls for national policy reform
Dr. Wijesinghe warned that persistent safety concerns could undermine staff retention: “Health staff remain in hospitals around the clock. If there is no sense of safety, it becomes extremely difficult to retain them, especially in rural hospitals where the risks can be even greater than in larger institutions like Nagoda.”
The GMOA called for a comprehensive national policy framework to address security within healthcare institutions, stressing that the issue extended beyond physical safety to broader societal attitudes towards women.
“What is required is a new approach and a new policy at a national level,” he said. “New legal provisions and a new policy must be introduced, and a new discourse needs to be born within society regarding the confirmation of women’s safety.”
He added that concerns about women’s safety spanned multiple environments, including public transport, workplaces, and homes.
The GMOA also expressed its willingness to collaborate with the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, hospital administrations, and law enforcement authorities to develop and implement effective policy responses.
“We are ready to engage with all relevant institutions to ensure that necessary decisions are taken to create a safe environment within hospitals,” Dr. Wijesinghe said. “Healthcare professionals must be able to carry out their duties without fear for their safety.”
National plan
The inclusion of staff safety in the National Strategic Plan on Healthcare Quality and Safety (2026–2030) marks a significant shift in Sri Lanka’s approach to its medical infrastructure, moving beyond the traditional emphasis on patient outcomes to also prioritise the physical and psychological well-being of healthcare workers.
Historically, patient safety was treated as the sole benchmark of a successful hospital, often overlooking the conditions faced by medical practitioners themselves. Under the new policy, launched in early 2026, the Ministry of Health has moved to institutionalise protections that were previously dependent on the discretion of individual hospital administrations.
The plan introduces several mandatory pillars aimed at addressing rising concerns over workplace harassment, including standardised security protocols that link hospital accreditation to staff safety, such as biometric access controls for doctors’ quarters and enhanced lighting in transit corridors, as well as the establishment of Hospital Safety Committees with independent legal and gender experts to ensure accountability across hierarchical structures.
In addition, a Workplace Safety audit system has been made compulsory, requiring hospitals to conduct periodic anonymous assessments and report both the number of harassment complaints and the efficiency of their resolution processes as a condition for maintaining funding.
A key feature of the policy is its focus on digital accountability, with reporting mechanisms integrated into a national health portal, enabling junior doctors to bypass internal hierarchies and report incidents directly to a central monitoring unit – an intervention designed to counter the widespread under-reporting of harassment driven by fear of professional repercussions.
The policy’s implementation timeline includes the gazetting of the plan on 12 March, the anticipated rollout of the National Health Incident Reporting System (NHIRS) by June, and a December deadline for all tertiary care hospitals to complete safe quarter infrastructure upgrades.
Reality on the ground
However, reality shows a stark difference. The Anuradhapura Teaching Hospital incident in March 2025 became a turning point for the Sri Lankan medical community, sparking nationwide protests and a re-evaluation of workplace security for female doctors.
In March 2025, a female doctor at the Anuradhapura Teaching Hospital was allegedly sexually assaulted while on duty – a severe breach of security within hospital premises. The case gained immediate national attention due to the vulnerability of the victim in a space that was expected to be secure.
Following the incident, Police arrested a suspect, but the impact on the medical community was profound.
Subsequent protests and strike action led by the doctors prompted the introduction of reforms, including CCTV installations in high-risk areas, biometric access controls for staff-only spaces, improved lighting, dedicated security personnel for residential facilities, and mandatory bi-annual safety audits.
In addition, the NHIRS was introduced to allow healthcare workers to report incidents directly to the Ministry, bypassing internal hierarchies, alongside a proposed zero-tolerance legal framework to fast-track investigations into workplace assaults.
However, accounts from doctors suggest that the reality remains far removed from these promises. At one rural hospital, the premises remain unfenced, leaving the grounds entirely open to the public.
“There are no security guards inside,” a female doctor said on condition of anonymity. She noted that what was often referred to as security consisted of minor staff already overstretched with their own duties.
For female doctors on call, routine duties can become high-risk situations. Many rural hospitals are located in isolated areas, with limited access to nearby towns. One doctor said she must travel nearly 15 kilometres to reach the nearest town, while roads surrounding the hospital become unsafe to navigate alone after 6 p.m.
Inside the hospital, poor infrastructure compounds these risks. Corridors and pathways leading to doctors’ quarters are often poorly lit or completely dark due to broken or non-existent lighting. Doctors are forced to rely on hand-held torches to move around at night, while remaining alert to snakes and other hazards in overgrown surroundings.
The lack of a secure perimeter has also led to unauthorised access to hospital grounds. “People come here to drink and use narcotics on the hospital land,” she said, adding that although a Police post was located nearby, it was often perceived as reactive rather than preventive.
Living quarters provide little relief. Although some doors have been repaired, the accommodation is situated away from the main building in a secluded, forested area. “If I were to scream, no one would hear me,” she said, describing the isolation.
Despite repeated assurances of reform, doctors say conditions have remained largely unchanged. On-call rooms continue to be in poor condition, while promised security upgrades have yet to materialise. For those working in remote parts of the country, the sense of vulnerability remains constant.
“It’s a constant risk,” the doctor said. “Anything could happen at any time.”
Victim blaming
In both the Nagoda and Anuradhapura incidents, a significant and troubling trend has been the emergence of victim-blaming narratives, particularly on social media.
“It’s actually disheartening,” a female doctor now residing abroad said. “Any professional has the right to carry out their duties free from physical, psychological, and sexual harassment. It is the responsibility of the workplace, society, and the State to ensure such a safe and enabling environment.”
She added that public reactions reflected broader societal attitudes towards women. “While these views do not represent everyone, the fact that a segment of the public expresses such sentiments is deeply concerning. It is difficult to believe that attitudes towards women within their homes, social circles, and workplaces are any different.”
Another doctor noted that attempts to justify the assault reflected deeper societal issues. “Political or professional disagreements can never serve as justification for the sexual assault of a woman carrying out her duties. Such acts remain unequivocally criminal,” she said.
She further pointed to a disturbing misunderstanding of medical ethics: “Assertions that a patient has the right to touch a doctor simply because a doctor conducts a physical examination demonstrate a dangerous distortion of reality.
“Clinical examinations are carried out strictly within professional and ethical guidelines. Equating such procedures with acts of sexual misconduct highlights a serious lack of awareness.”
Female doctors also highlighted that examining patients without the presence of supporting staff, such as nurses or healthcare assistants, contradicted established professional guidelines. However, due to systemic constraints, such support is not always available, leaving doctors exposed.
These realities, they said, raised critical questions about the conditions under which healthcare professionals were expected to work often with little regard for their personal safety.
Attempts to contact Deputy Minister of Health Dr. Hansaka Wijemuni and Minister of Women and Child Affairs Saroja Savithri Paulraj were unsuccessful.