Evaluating Violence Against Emergency Healthcare Workers From The Perspective Of Societal Gender Equality

Although violence is considered one of the most important social problems worldwide, in societies where patriarchal values are important, the dependence of women on men increases violence against women. In recent years, various studies have discussed the factors of the increasing cases of violence against health workers.

However, the impact of gender inequality remains an important problem. In service areas, such as pre-hospital emergency medical services (EMSs), where roles and responsibilities are associated with the physical capacity of a worker, discussing the increasing violence against health personnel in recent years on the gender equality axis is important.

The aim of this study is to explain the determining factor of gender equality in violence against EMS workers. The study employed interpretive social science, which is based on semi-structured in-depth interviews as a qualitative research method. The interviews were audio recorded, which were trasnscribed and categorized according to subject.

In this context, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 25 EMS workers working in Izmir. The categorized texts were evaluated using the descriptive analysis method. After the categorization, 3 sub-titles came to the fore: (a) Sexist Approach and empathy to Difficulties in EMSs, (b) Gender-Based Discrimination in EMSs, (c) Positive Perception of Female Personnel in EMSs Working under Difficult and Risky Conditions.

In communities that attribute importance to patriarchal values and with high levels of societal gender inequality, the perception of women as weak and fragile negatively influences female EMS employees and renders them vulnerable to violence. However, the fact that women can successfully offer services even under difficult situations, such as EMSs, which are directly related to human life, and where physical features are considered important for service delivery, changes in the perception of women as fragile and weak can contribute to gender equality and prevent violence against women.

Moreover, using strong empathic skills, women can contribute to the prevention of violence against healthcare workers in the field of EMSs in which they play key roles.