London: Nurses working in UK hospitals will now be required to wear body cameras as part of the government’s efforts to crack down on sexual assaults in health institutions.
The move comes after a shocking report emerged last week which revealed that there have been more than 6,500 reports of rape and sexual assault in hospitals since 2019.
Health Secretary Steve Barclay introduced the rule of giving healthcare workers body-cams similar to those worn by paramedics and police.
The Department of Health will work closely with National Health Service (NHS) to deploy the measure. Other steps that will be put in place to reduce the cases of sexual abuse in hospitals include AI data processors to improve prosecution rates and launching a national violence prevention hub, according to The Telegraph.
6,500 cases of sexual abuse in hospitals in 3 years
Last week, the Women’s Rights Network – a feminist group in the UK – published statistics revealing that sexual assaults take place in the country every week.
In just the last three years, Britain reported 6,500 cases of rape and sexual assault in hospitals.
Heather Binning, the founder of Women’s Rights said that the numbers are “just the tip of the iceberg.”
“Hospitals are places where everyone – patients, staff and visitors – should feel completely safe but rapes and violent assaults are taking place in hospitals every week,” she said. Binning added, “The figures show hospitals are just not safe places. They are almost a market for sexual offenders. It’s absolutely terrifying.”
Among the horrific crimes faced by patients, staff and visitors include gang rapes and assaults on children. What is more shocking is that only 4.1 per cent of the perpetrators involved in these cases have faced charges.
NHS vows to prevent attacks
The NHS director of sexual assault services commissioning, Kate Davies said, “We will work with the Government and other partners to ensure the NHS is a safe space for all staff and patients. Local services must not tolerate sexual misconduct, violence, harassment, or abuse – it is totally unacceptable.”
“Preventing these attacks from occurring in the first place is a priority and we have a programme of work dedicated to this and have appointed our first national clinical lead to drive forward action – together we must do all we can to keep staff and patients in our services safe,” she added.
She further said that it is of utmost importance that all NHS Trusts and Organisations must have “robust measures in place to ensure immediate action is taken in any cases reported to them.”
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