Doctors were complicit in Epstein’s abuse—survivors must now be our priority

BMJ 2026; 392 doi:https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.s351(Published 23 February 2026) Cite this as: BMJ 2026;392:s351

The theme for International Women’s Day 2026 is rights, justice, and action for all women and girls. By contrast, 8 March this year will be marred by the grim reality that it took a dead man’s emails for the world to believe the testimonies of hundreds of women and girls. Many observers have appropriately expressed shock and disgust at the crimes of Jeffrey Epstein and his associates, but we are overlooking doctors’ involvement and what sexual abuse means for the health of victims.

Epstein, a wealthy businessman and socialite, was given an 18 month jail term in 2008 after pleading guilty to soliciting and procuring a child for prostitution. The true scale of his abuse was massive: a longstanding sex trafficking ring enabled by powerful associates that abused women and children all over the world. Epstein died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal charges of sex trafficking.

The recent release of millions of documents known as the “Epstein files” by the US Department of Justice is revealing how expansive and disturbing his network of exploitation was. UN human rights council experts have said that the paedophilia, sexual slavery, and torture of girls and women this abuse entailed amounts to crimes against humanity.1

“Healthwashing” by doctors enabled Epstein

What is under appreciated amid the media storm is the patronage of health leaders that burnished Epstein’s reputation and status. The files reveal that, even after Epstein was convicted and imprisoned for sex involving girls as young as 14 years old, prominent doctors still sought his fraternity—including longevity medicine guru Peter Attia; forerunner of US preventive medicine Dean Ornish; top urologist Harry Fisch; and current administrator of the US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Mehmet Oz, among others.23 Some gave Epstein medical advice, provided home visits, and exchanged crude emails about women.2 They join a network of university leaders and scientists internationally that Epstein funded or socialised with, sometimes involving troubling interests such as eugenics, even after he was convicted as a sex offender.45 For doctors, the proximity to wealth and power, and the ways in which associating with Epstein elevated their own social status, seemingly compromised their integrity, due diligence, and decency.

A group of women doctors helped to expose the extent to which medical professionals abetted Epstein’s credibility.26 The group includes doctor and writer Jen Gunter, who used her Substack and social media platforms to speak up and demand accountability.6 In a recent post Gunter said that doctors’ patronage of Epstein helped him to “create an aura of safety and respectability to allow him to continue to do what he was doing.” This “healthwashing” helped sanitise Epstein’s reputation and behaviour. The doctors enabling women’s rights and dignity to be violated undermines trust in the profession.

Survivors deserve more attention

Sexual exploitation and abuse have devastating physical and mental health harms that often last a lifetime.7 The harms are compounded by survivors’ experiences of being ignored or silenced. Women raised concerns about Epstein’s criminal behaviour in the 1990s but weren’t taken seriously by authorities.8 This is a common form of revictimisation—extending trust and impunity to male perpetrators while dismissing or gaslighting girls and women when they seek help. It is also a serious failure of justice: if victims are not believed, future violence cannot be prevented.

When women’s collective voices were finally listened to, their brave advocacy fuelled public pressure and the eventual release of the Epstein files that revealed further details of how widespread the predation, abuse, and trafficking were. Yet again protection of women failed when the Department of Justice botched redactions that exposed personal and medical information, while the names of many men associated with Epstein remained protected.9

The harms to the survivors of Epstein and his network of perpetrators are devastating, but the depravity in the files should not be seen as an isolated case. Violence towards women happens daily everywhere and is a leading cause of ill health globally. Over one billion people have experienced childhood sexual assault, and 600 million women and girls have experienced physical or sexual violence.10 No other issue affecting a billion people receives less attention in health priorities and agendas.

Rights and justice now

Pushing for further transparency to unmask perpetrators and their crimes is vital, but release of documents themselves must not be seen as fulfilling rights obligations or delivering justice to survivors. The Department of Justice is not pursuing additional criminal charges or investigation, allowing perpetrators to live freely. The doctors and scientists who enabled Epstein will carry on with their lives.

As health professionals, we should use the full weight of our responsibility and credibility to push for stronger accountability and prevention of all violence towards women and children, as well as recognition of it as a health issue. We have an obligation to do no harm, act with integrity, and ensure zero tolerance for behaviour that compromises women’s and girls’ rights. Rights and justice demand investigation and punitive action for those who abuse or exploit others. Those named in the Epstein files should be fully investigated by authorities and their institutions.

Footnotes

AI use: none.

Competing interests: none.

Provenance and peer review: Commissioned; not externally peer reviewed.