Tunisian Young Doctors condemn hospital assaults, call for protest

The Tunisian Organization of Young Doctors (OTJM) has issued a strong condemnation of recent assaults targeting healthcare workers at the Fatouma Bourguiba University Hospital in Monastir and the Ibn Jazar University Hospital in Kairouan. The organization expressed its categorical refusal of the persistent climate of violence that jeopardizes the safety of medical professionals in public health facilities. In response, OTJM has urged all young doctors, including interns, residents, and medical students, to participate in a protest rally on Monday, July 6, at the Fatouma Bourguiba University Hospital. This will be followed by a peaceful march towards the Court of First Instance in Monastir. The demonstrations aim to defend the right to practice medicine in safe conditions, reject violence and impunity, and demand strict legal action against those who attack healthcare professionals. The call for protest follows a specific incident where a renal surgery professor at the Monastir hospital was assaulted at work, sustaining a broken nose that required surgery and resulted in a 28-day work absence. A similar violent incident occurred at the Kairouan hospital within the same week. OTJM emphasized that these are not isolated events but direct consequences of inadequate protection measures, deteriorating working conditions, and the absence of a comprehensive strategy to combat violence against healthcare workers. The organization reiterated its urgent demands, including the arrest and prosecution of assailants, the implementation of effective access control systems for health facilities, and the development of a national strategy to combat violence within public health institutions.