Violence against health workers is still a problem

Violence against health workers continues to be prevalent in Lebanon despite efforts by the health workers’ syndicates to contain the phenomenon. The violence is both physical and psychological. "Most of the psychological violence against us takes the form of treating us as inferiors," said Rosy, 48, who prefers to use only her first name “because everyone knows everyone else in this country.” According to her, "the worst are those who treat you like a cockroach. Nothing gives them the right to shout, swear and say harsh words to me or anyone else working in the health sector.” Speaking of the patients, doctors and other colleagues she works with, Rosy, who has been working as a nurse for almost three decades said: "You meet good and bad people in this business, and I've worked with them all." Health activists say that despite guidelines on workplace violence that were issued in 2002 by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in conjunction with the International Federation of Nurses and the World Health Organization, the Lebanese government does not seem to be helping in fighting the violence. This was confirmed by Health Minister Mohammed Jawad Khalife who told IRIN that his ministry "doesn't deal" with psychological or even physical violence. Khalife said that the health ministry leaves it to the relevant unions to deal with issues of workplace violence. “In Lebanon, it is the syndicates and unions which deal with such matters. The Doctors' Syndicate is the party concerned, and we, as a ministry, leave it to the unions. Let the doctors file their complaints to them," he said. According to Ursula Rizk, the head of the nurses' union, "nurses in Lebanon face hard times and psychological violence against them is increasing - ranging from verbal assaults to pushing them to work longer hours." Both Rizk, and lawyer Manal Matar, who is a member of the Investigations Committee at the Doctors' Syndicate, said that although the number of complaints from the health workers is almost the same every year, the situation remains alarming. According to the latest edition of a book based on an ILO 2002 study on workplace violence in seven countries world-wide, 41 percent of health workers interviewed in Lebanon had experienced verbal abuse while 22 percent faced “bullying and mobbing.” Rizk said, "The psychological violence has a negative impact on the nurses. When they are pressed to work longer than the required hours they become tired all the time. And when they are verbally assaulted they have a low esteem of themselves." “We receive many written complaints at the syndicate which our legal adviser and the penalising committee deal with,” added Rizk. But the problem, according to Rizk, is that most of the nurses “do not know that they are empowered by law to confront such psychological assaults.” Since the nurses’ syndicate is still in its infancy – it started functioning in 2003, Rizk said “We are still in the process of putting an ethics code that the penalising committee would follow in dealing with any complaints from or against the nurses.” However, it is not only the nurses who face psychological abuses. “Doctors too face such disrespectful treatment and psychological assaults from fellow doctors, heads of departments and even from hospital managers,” said Matar. Matar told IRIN that the Investigations Committee looks into complaints by doctors against other doctors, against their chief supervisors or against the heads of the hospitals they work in. "Most of the time the assaults against the doctors are verbal, including slander and libellous complaints," she added. LH/AR/SZ