Important Information
Many women assume that sexual abuse by a doctor
cannot happen to them because it is rare. That is totally untrue.
Sexual abuse by doctors is often underreported because many women
feel uncomfortable coming forward. Make sure you check out the tips
on how to protect yourself from being sexually abused by a doctor.
It is best that you not go to a male doctor for women health issues
and colonoscopy if possible. Having a nurse or an assistant present
in the room with the doctor doesn't guarantee that nothing inappropriate
would happen to you. Remember that the nurse or assistant is present
to "protect" the doctor and will often be on the doctor's
side. There have been cases where female patients felt the male
doctor went too far, but the nurse or assistant felt he was simply
doing thorough examinations. There was one case where everything
happened so quickly that took the nurse off guard and she was not
able to report what happened until the female patient left. It is
certainly not worth the risk to let a male doctor do intimate female
procedures or examinations. A number of sexual misconduct cases
by doctors happened with a nurse present.
Patients under anesthesia are very vulnerable if
they do not have a family member or friend with them because many
unethical things such as sexual abuse, non-consensual
pelvic and genital exams, stripping of their underwear &
gown against their wishes, and unnecessary
urinary catheterizations can happen. Keep in mind that it is
very difficult to enforce things when a patient is unconscious if
only medical professionals are in the operating room. It is hard
to get proof when only medical professionals are in the room.
Check out the below important resources
about sexual abuse by doctors.
Intimate
Intimidation (Philadelphia Magazine) - An article about a gynecologist
who sexually abused many women and the effects on the victims. A
nurse was present in many of the cases when the sexual abuse happened.
The chaperones (usually nurses) in the cases where the patients
seemed to be in distress, had tried to comfort them, assuming they
were in pain. One of the ladies who was abused by a gynecologist
worked in the same hospital as him. It's scary to think about how
a male doctor would go that far in abusing a woman who was an employee
at the same medical facility he worked at.
Doctors
Admit To Sexual Contact With Patients (New York Daily News)
- A newspaper article in 1979 about how at least 25 percent gynecologists
admitted that they had some kind of sexual contact with their patients.
Doctors Continue to Practice After Allegations of Sexual Assault - An article
by a law firm about how some doctors have kept their licenses to practice medicine
despite the fact they have been disciplined for sexual misconduct.
Why
Sexual Misconduct Is Difficult To Uncover - An article that
discusses about why sexual abuse by medical professionals are difficult
to uncover.
A
#MeToo moment with a pediatrician - An article a female anesthesiologist
wrote about how she went to a male pediatrician when she was 13
years old because she had rib pain and how he did an unnecessary
breast exam on her. Her mom was present, but did not intervene to
stop the breast exam from happening. Sadly, doctors can even abuse
teenage girls even with moms present because many people are taught
that we should always submit to what doctors want since they "always
know what is best" for us.
Time and Tide
- A doctor's account of an encounter with an attractive female patient.
He always had a nurse present with him when he did a pelvic exam.
This proves that a nurse cannot chaperone a doctor's mind. |