We think of violence only as fists. This is wrong. It gets louder. Insults are hurled. Threats are made. You are humiliated. Your reputation is being targeted. As a woman doctor, I have to say this clearly: Violence is not only beatings. It is the pressure you feel all day long. It is insecurity. It is boundary violation.
And this picture is no longer a personal feeling; it is a measurable reality. According to the Turkish Medical Association's 2024 Violence in Health Workshop Report %44,7’% of respondents report having been subjected to violence at the workplace in the last 12 months. Most of the violence is verbal violence (,2). Followed by mobbing () and physical violence (,4) is coming. Sexual harassment (%1,6) is the part that can be recorded; it is not the part that is often invisible, unspoken, buried in silence.
In this country, violence in health institutions is no longer an exception; it is an established problem.
It is no coincidence that female doctors are more frequently targeted. In a study analyzing Code White data (analysis of 345 cases), it was found that healthcare workers who were subjected to violence %63,18’are reported to be women. The issue is not weakness; the issue is that women's authority is more easily tested, more easily belittled and more easily targeted.
Some of them see that I'm a woman. “doctor” he says. This is not a simple slip of the tongue; it is a cultural code. For many years, the language of authority and representation in the field of health has been based on a long tradition of masculinity. For this reason “Bey” In some mouths, the address is no longer used as a gender expression but as a title of office. But the result does not change: The authority of the female doctor is often ignored. “Doctor, ma'am.” instead of saying “doctor” the reflex of seeing the woman and still ignoring her authority. This seemingly small language preference is actually an indication of a cultural pattern. Because even the right of the female physician to set limits is rendered questionable from the very beginning.
We also see the infrastructure of violence in the cause analysis of White Code records. Among the reasons that trigger violence, treatment/application dissatisfaction (%28,1), requests against the rule/law (%26,6), not wanting to wait (,4) and communication problems (.9).
This data shows that: A significant part of violence “seeking rights” It is not. Violence is often “rule-breaking” Initiative. “My will be done” bullying.
Violence against women physicians has another face: the attack is not only directed against the profession, but directly against womanhood. Age, appearance, marital status, gender... are used as materials for the attack. Therefore, violence against women doctors is not only a matter of security; it is also a matter of reputation.
And there are some events that just “uncomfortable” It does not; it magnifies a fear that is ingrained in the profession.
Seeing a person entering a hospital with a gun in his waistband is enough to explain how vulnerable doctors are in this country. A few weeks ago, a similar incident took place at the Plastic Surgery Outpatient Clinic of Balıkesir University Faculty of Medicine. There is a person who starts yelling at the secretary in the outpatient clinic because he does not want to wait in line. Anger rises, the atmosphere gets tense. At that moment, a female faculty member steps in. She calms the patient down. On the one hand, she calms the corridor, on the other hand, she tries to keep things on a medical level. Then she takes him in to be examined.
The patient complains of a lesion on his arm. The physician naturally “take off your jacket, let us examine you” He says.
And he sees the big gun on his waist.
Now we should pause here for a moment and think: You should think about the state of mind of that woman doctor during the examination. Because at that moment there is no more medicine alone. At that moment there is no longer medicine alone. At that moment there is now this question:
“Am I safe in this room?”
This sentence alone shows that the issue “communication” it is not. When guns enter a country's hospital, the problem is “the anger of a few” but a vacuum of security and law. Public space has been left uncontrolled. As long as that vacuum is not closed, violence finds its way. And it chooses its most visible target: the health worker, the doctor... most of the time the woman doctor.
And we have been saying this for years: X-ray devices should be placed at hospital gates. Today, there are these devices even at the entrances of shopping malls. But not in hospitals. The health institution is treated as if it is an area where violence does not occur.
The reports of the Turkish Medical Association also clearly state this: Violence in health is not an isolated but a systematic problem. Institutional measures must be strengthened.
Yes. Because it's a matter of a few “bad person” is not the issue. It is a problem of a system that feeds on rule-breaking, pressure from relatives, system burden and impunity.
Solution “condemnation” It isn't.
The solution is a strong institutional reflex, a clear security system, swift enforcement and visible punishment. There needs to be a system in which the law is the first thing you see when you walk through the hospital door. The doctor “alone” where there's no one left. Code White is really “code” like it works and gets results.
Otherwise the picture will not change. Today a doctor, tomorrow a teacher. Today in the hospital, tomorrow on the street. Because impunity grows. Violence becomes a habit.
And let us not forget this: If health workers are not protected in this country, society is not protected.