The Royal College's Faculty of Dental Surgery awarded the medal to Carrie and Daljit citing their most recent research that highlighted widespread sexual misconduct, including harassment, assault, and rape, within the UK surgical workforce.
This study, published in the British Journal of Surgery, analysed responses from 1,434 participants, over half of whom were women. It found that 63.3 per cent of women and 23.7 per cent of men experienced sexual harassment from colleagues in the last five years.
Daljit was a founding member of the Working Party on Sexual Misconduct in Surgery (WPSMS) and continues to work with key stakeholders to improve sexual safety in the workplace.
Carrie, a professor at the University of Surrey’s School, said, "I'm honoured to receive the Coyler Gold Medal with my colleague and friend, Daljit Dhariwal. The impact of our research into sexual misconduct in surgery is encouraging. It has sparked important discussions about making work environments in UK hospitals safer. While there's much progress to be made, openly having these conversations is a significant first step."
Juliet Wright, a professor and dean of the School of Medicine at the University of Surrey, said, "We are immensely proud to have Carrie as a founding member of our School of Medicine here at the University of Surrey. Her wealth of experience in practice, teaching, and research will be invaluable to us as we look to train the next generation of doctors.
"On behalf of everyone here at the University of Surrey, I want to offer Carrie our congratulations on receiving this honour."
Daljit, the president of the British Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (BAOMS) and a tutor in surgery at the University of Oxford, said, "I am proud and humbled to receive this prestigious award for showing leadership in my educational roles and for my work on sexual misconduct in surgery. I continue to work in this space to support effective action for all healthcare staff.
"This is an important issue and this work has been the most impactful of my career thus far. I am pleased that OUH is leading the way in creating safe spaces and educational tools to tackle sexual misconduct, and acknowledge the real heroes are those who speak up about their experiences.
"As a leader, it is an honour and a responsibility to ensure there is a voice for those who have not found theirs yet and, although it is not easy to raise difficult subjects, it is the right thing to do."