WHAT IS DETECT AND WHY THIS WEBSITE?

There are six million people in Germany who are working in healthcare. A lot of them are still in education, aiming for the high goal to dedicate their live and carrer in the high field of health care and health promotion. The composition of people you find in medical education changes continously. For example, the human medicine student body has become increasingly female and diverse over the last few decades, but the immigration of medical professionals from abroad is also increasingly shaping collaboration in clinics and practices. Trainees do not always experience respectful and unbiased interactions with one another during their years of training. Many of them experience sexist and racist discrimination (further information under “Sexism”/“Racism”), either personally or as witnesses. The spectrum of abnormalities is wide and ranges from comments that initially seem harmless to physical harassment. Hierarchies and relationships of dependency often prevent those affected from reporting the grievances. Discrimination creates an atmosphere of intimidation, uncertainty and powerlessness, from which those who are dependent on the favor of their trainers particularly suffer.

The project “DETECT – against SEXIST and RACIST DISCRIMINATION in medical training”, initially funded with funds from the “Special Line for University Medicine”, aims to make discrimination visible in everyday medical life and to give those affected a voice as well as to scientifically address the issue and develop solution strategies for practical use.

The public and anonymous reporting platform “DETECT” was designed in cooperation with the Dean of Studies and the Equal Opportunities Office of the Medical Faculty of the University of Freiburg. She documents everyday sexist and racist discrimination in everyday hospital life without exposing the perpetrators. All people who are trained or work in the medical field throughout Germany are invited to report anonymously about their experiences.

In addition, seminars to raise awareness of discrimination and to strengthen moral courage for medical students and lecturers are designed and taught as part of the project (see current information).

Share your experiences with us under “Submit!”