Transparency needed in addressing physician sexual misconduct, say researchers

Mon, 20 Apr 2026 06:00:04 +0200

A new study on physician misconduct using publicly available data on 208 physicians involved in cases of sex- or gender-based violence, harassment, or discrimination found gaps in how physicians were monitored and sanctioned. The research is published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. Using media stories, legal decisions, and information from physician regulatory body websites, researchers identified 689 victims—of whom 585 were women or girls and at least 40 were children—over five years from 2019 to 2024. Sexual-boundary or sexual-misconduct complaints were the most common (75, 36%) followed by sexual assault (65, 32%), although definitions sometimes differed.