Many medical professionals in WA have experienced sexual harassment in their workplace, an online survey has revealed.

Many medical professionals in WA have experienced sexual harassment at work, prompting the Australia Medical Association state branch to create a task force to tackle the issue.

An online survey of almost 1000 medical professionals has revealed 44 per cent of female respondents have experienced sexual harassment at work, while 13 per cent of male respondents indicated the same.

The new taskforce, comprising representatives from the AMA WA and the Health Department, will examine how the complaints system can be improved and may even push for legislative changes.

AMA WA president Michael Gannon says the survey results are sad and uncomfortable to read, and he has promised a zero tolerance approach to harassment.

"There can be no question that sexual harassment is unacceptable, unethical and entirely inappropriate," he said.

"Unsafe workplaces threaten the safety of our patients."

Dr Gannon said the survey results also showed sexual harassment disproportionately affected females, given that women accounted for about 42 per cent of medical practitioners in WA.

He said it was especially concerning to see few survey respondents had reported sexual harassment.

Many respondents noted the difficulty of being a victim at the hands of someone who had influence over their career, while others were advised by colleagues to endure it to protect their job.

Last year, Sydney vascular surgeon Gabrielle McMullin came under fire for saying it was best for trainees to comply with requests for sex from male seniors to protect their careers.