Doctor Sexual Abuse & Misconduct — Why Transparency Matters

Physician sexual misconduct and doctor sexual abuse — why medical misconduct and accountability demand full transparency. Unique new analysis of Canadian doctor sex abuse cases, medical board transparency, and healthcare sexual harassment from 1995–2021. Understand how physician discipline and transparency impact patient safety and trust — and what needs to change. What You'll Learn: How a new Canadian study systematically tracked physician sexual misconduct across all 10 provinces and Yukon from 1995–2021. What 208 documented doctor sexual abuse cases reveal about medical misconduct and accountability in real-world practice. Why 689 identified victims — including 585 women and girls and at least 40 children — expose deep gender-based violence in healthcare. Which medical specialties (especially family medicine and psychiatry) were most represented in these misconduct cases and why that matters for oversight. How researchers used media reports, legal decisions, and medical regulator websites to uncover patterns hidden from the public eye. Where gaps in medical board transparency and physician discipline allow repeat offenders to keep practicing. What these findings mean for patient safety and trust, particularly around healthcare power imbalances and vulnerable patients. Concrete steps regulators, institutions, clinicians, and patients can take to push for greater transparency and prevention of healthcare sexual harassment.