Legal protection for healthcare professionals against violence in the workplace, Ecuador

Abstract

Workplace violence against healthcare professionals, a growing systemic phenomenon, compromises the physical and psychological integrity of staff and, critically, the quality of healthcare. This research, using a rigorous hermeneutical-legal and documentary approach, analyzes the gap between the regulatory framework and its implementation in Ecuador. Key laws and a representative selection of rulings from the Constitutional Court. Our findings confirm the existence of regulatory gaps and fragmented jurisprudence, which, while resolving individual cases, has not generated structural changes or a unified doctrine. This study contributes significantly to the field of law by demonstrating that the lack of specialized legislation, coupled with insufficient coherent jurisprudential development, results in the State's non-contractual liability for omission.