Safety fears in India after doc's rape, murder

Case triggers re-evaluation of workplace safety for women doctors across country

- Nirmala Ganapathy

The brutal rape and murder of a doctor while on duty in one of India's oldest hospitals in the eastern city of Kolkata has triggered a re-evaluation of workplace safety for women doctors across the country.

Women doctors and nurses, many from overcrowded and understaffed public hospitals, have joined protests in large numbers to seek justice for the victim who was raped and murdered on Aug 9 at R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in West Bengal state, and to demand enhanced security for themselves.

Among them is Dr Yashi Jariya, 28, a second-year ENT (ear, nose and throat) resident doctor at New Delhi's Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, where doctors are demanding that the hospital hire more security guards and bouncers.

Dr Jariya said she had never given much thought to her personal safety even though she has routinely faced irate patients and their family members.

She was once held by the collar by an angry family member of a patient after being given bad news. Security guards were called in to escort the man out.

But after the recent murder and rape, she fears walking along deserted hospital corridors during the night shift or going for a midnight walk after dinner within the hospital complex.

"I felt I would not be hurt on my hospital premises because this is my second home. I spend more time here than I spend at home. That delusion has been shattered," said Dr Jariya, who now finds herself picking up her parents' call even during duty hours just to let them know she is fine.