One in ten healthcare workers have reported experiences of sexual harassment, trade union Unison has found that in a recent survey.

This includes being shown pornographic content, being offered money for sex at work, derogatory comments, and being touched or kissed. 

The survey has been released to coincide with the first day of UNISON’s annual health conference in Brighton today (8 April). 

Sexual assault was reported by almost three in ten of all the health workers who’d experienced sexual harassment.

Unison general secretary Christina McAnea said: “No one should ever have to endure such despicable behaviour, and certainly not in their place of work.

“But NHS staff often put up with this appalling abuse, not reporting it because they don’t believe they’ll be taken seriously.

She said that if not properly addressed, this "completely unacceptable behaviour" would continue in the healthcare sector. 

She commented that more needs to be done to protect NHS staff from sexual harassment and to "reassure them their complaints will be fully investigated and action taken against the perpetrators."

McAnea added: "Employers must take swift action when workers flag up incidents regardless of whether the sexual harassment has come from a patient or a colleague."

Half of healthcare workers said they had been leered at or been the target of suggestive gestures, while a quarter said they had suffered unwelcome sexual advances, propositions or demands for sexual favours.

Unwanted crude ‘banter’ or ‘jokes’ were the most common issue, reported by 61 per cent workers who had experienced some form of harassment, according to the data from a survey of 12,243 health workers.

Other complaints included invading someone’s personal space, unwanted comments about clothing or appearance, unwelcome messages of a sexual nature and exposure to offensive material such as pornographic images.

Despite the serious and even criminal nature of some of the incidents, half the staff hadn’t reported the sexual harassment to their employer. 

The main reasons staff did not report the harassment were that they were worried about being considered 'over-sensitive' or did not trust their employers to act on the complaint. 

Unison said they want to see a change in the law so employers are also responsible for protecting their staff against harassment from patients or those working for contractors.