A survey by the Union of Health Care and Social Service Workers (Sağlık-Sen) shows that one in every four health care workers is exposed to physical violence.

The issue is pressing for doctors and nurses as cases of violence have become an almost daily occurrence.

Sağlık-Sen’s survey of 2,124 health care workers indicates that 48% of cases are perpetrated by patients or their relatives. It also revealed that seven out of every 10 health care workers were subject to psychological/verbal abuse at the hands of those perpetrators.

In the first six months of this year, 136 cases were reported and 226 health care workers were victims of 234 perpetrators. The union says cases cover everyone, from doctors to paramedics, "affecting their professional and social lives."

Most cases involve beatings, while others were limited to verbal harassment; murders are rare. Perpetrators’ excuses to justify their acts of violence are flimsy at best. Some claim health care workers did not give proper attention to their sick relatives while others, unfairly, demand priority in emergency rooms. In some cases, doctors face harassment and assault for refusing to prescribe drugs to addicts seeking access to medications they should not be prescribed. Of the people that participated in the survey, 82% said they were worried about the likelihood of falling victim to violence while 71% of participants say they witnessed a colleague being subjected to violence. The majority of cases are verbal harassment and most take place during regular shifts while 40% of participants said the cases occurred while they were working outside regular shifts. Most cases take place in emergency rooms. A total of 53% of health care workers interviewed for the survey said they were exposed to the violence while attending to medical needs of perpetrators while the rest was harassed or hit while attending to other patients.

In March, the Justice Committee of the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM) approved a bill that overhauls existing regulations to better prevent violence toward women and health care workers. The bill introduces heftier sentences for crimes against these two vulnerable groups who have been exposed to cases of violence and sometimes, murder. For health care workers, the bill defines "crimes against health care workers" as a separate offense for the first time in Turkish law. Thus, legal proceedings will be facilitated against perpetrators of crimes targeting all health care staff, from doctors and nurses to paramedics, who are subject to attacks while on duty.

Yet, Sağlık-Sen chair Semih Durmuş said in a statement that the violence "continues despite regulations." "Legal action does not prevent the problem. It is a multi-dimensional problem," he says.