Nearly 300,000 resident doctors of government hospitals in India have been on strike since Monday after a 31-year-old resident trainee doctor was raped and murdered while working in Kolkata, the capital of India’s West Bengal state. As a result, elective and non-emergency procedures have been halted.
Her body was found last Friday in a seminar room at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, where she worked. A suspect has since been arrested, according to reports.
“This heartbreaking incident starkly highlights the glaring deficiencies in security within our medical institutions across the nation,” the Federation of Resident Doctors Association India (FORDA) said in a statement posted on X.
In the aftermath of the incident, FORDA has demanded that the government pass the Central Protection Act for Doctors, which they say will ensure the safety of health care workers across the country by creating a uniform definition of what violence entails and establishing clear penalties for perpetrators. FORDA is demanding that a committee be established to help expedite the ratification of the law and an immediate, transparent, and impartial investigation into the crime.
Currently, 25 out of India’s 28 states have laws in place to protect doctors and healthcare workers from violence, according to the Indian Medical Association. However, advocates say that the laws are mostly ineffective and that a central law passed by the national government would be more likely to be enforced. The differences many doctors say they still experience violence at the workplace, usually caused by patients and their relatives. A 2015 survey conducted by the Indian Medical Association found that 75% of doctors had experienced some form of violence while on the job. R.V. Asokan, the president of the National Indian Medical Association, told the Indian television station NDTV, that he is especially worried about protection for female doctors who may be more vulnerable to sexual assault and harrassment.
“There is a need for an overall comprehensive relook at the whole system and the amenities provided,” R.V. Asokan, the president of the National Indian Medical Association, told the Indian television station NDTV. He also called for the installation of CCTV cameras in health care facilities and said that hospitals across the country should be declared “safe zones.” He said these actions were especially important as increasing numbers of women enroll in medical school in India.
India struggles with high rates of violence against women, with over 31,000 rapes reported in 2022. Experts say that the true rate is likely much higher, as many women do not report due to fear of reprisal and stigma. Several high profile rape cases have led to protests across the country in recent years, with activists demanding safer conditions for women. Most infamous of all these cases was a 2012 a gang rape of a physiotherapy student on a bus, which was condemned around the world. The incident led to legislative changes in how India prosecutes sexual assault cases and more severe punishments for perpetrators.
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