LAUSR

INTRODUCTION Sexual harassment is any unwelcome behavior or obscene remark that affects an individual's work performance or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive environment. We sought to examine its presence in vascular surgery training programs, identify factors associated with occurrence, and determine reporting barriers. METHODS An anonymous survey consisting of questions on frequency of sexual harassment including type/perpetrators/locations; why/how the practice occurs; reporting mechanisms/barriers to reporting and demographic information was emailed to all vascular surgery trainees in the United States. Descriptive and univariate analysis was performed. RESULTS Of 498 invitations sent, 133 (27%) completed the survey. 50/133 (38%) thought harassment occurred more commonly in surgical specialties with hierarchy/power dynamics, historical male dominance in field, and ignoring of behavior the most common reasons cited that it still occurs. 81/133 (61%) respondents have either experienced (63/133, 47%) or witnessed (18/133, 14%) other trainees being harassed, with being called a sexist slur/intimate nickname the most common behavior. Those affected were more commonly female (p=0.0006), with the most common perpetrator a surgical attending, and the most common area of occurrence the operating room. Reasons for not reporting included believing the behavior was harmless in intent (33/63, 52%) and feeling nothing would come of it if reported (28/63, 44%), but 15/63 (24%) feared repercussions and 15/63 (24%) felt uncomfortable identifying as a target of sexual harassment. 46/133 (35%) of respondents were not aware of institutional mechanisms for reporting harassment, with only 70/133 (53%) feeling comfortable reporting to their departmental leadership. CONCLUSIONS A significant number of vascular surgery trainees have experienced sexual harassment during their training. Over a third of respondents do not know institutional mechanisms for reporting, and almost half do not feel comfortable reporting to departmental leadership. Increasing education on harassment and reporting mechanisms may be necessary in vascular surgery training programs.