Abstract
This article focuses on the extent to which violence against family doctors in England is experienced in gendered terms. It draws on data from two studies: a postal survey of 1,300 general practitioners (GPs) (62% response rate) and in‐depth interviews with 26 doctors who have been assaulted or threatened; and 13 focus groups with primary care teams and 19 in‐depth interviews with GPs who had expressed an interest in the topic of violence against doctors. Most GPs, regardless of gender, reported receiving verbal abuse over the last two years, often interpreted as a consequence of declining deference to professionals, while actual physical assaults and threats were much rarer and more likely to be reported by men. Overall, women GPs were much more likely to express concern about violence and to take personal precautions, although younger male GPs working in inner‐city practices also had high levels of concern. The study shows how some aspects of family doctors’ work has been organised on gendered lines and how these contribute to the differences in experience of violence. We suggest that the increasing proportion of women among family doctors may have implications for these, often tacit, organisational routines.
Highlights
There is a growing body of research and policy discussion on violence against health workers from service users (e.g. Holmes et al 2012), relatively little of this focuses on gender
We consider how assumptions about masculinities and femininities and appropriate embodied gender performance in general practice shape the risk of violence and its management and prevention. This focus on violence illuminates some general features of gender and this form of professional work, and raises some issues about the changing gender balance in general practice
We begin with a brief account of relevant features of the organisation of National Health Service (NHS) general medical practitioners (GPs)’ work
Summary
There is a growing body of research and policy discussion on violence against health workers from service users (e.g. Holmes et al 2012), relatively little of this focuses on gender. We conducted follow-up interviews with a sub-sample of 26 respondents, 17 male and nine female, who had reported at least one incident of physical assault or threat in the postal survey, over-recruiting women and minority ethnic group GPs in order to ensure representation of their views.
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