Things that a doctor should not say, do or allow Back
During field research, experts and survivors of rape and sexual assault told us of the irrelevant questions that are often asked by doctors during the medical examination soon after rape. We felt the need to draw up a list of things that a doctor must never say, do or allow.
- Refuse to provide the survivor with medical attention until an FIR is filed.
- Order or demand a survivor to disrobe during the medical examination. Doctors should, instead, politely request a survivor to do so.
- Ask questions about the survivor’s past sexual history during the medical examination.
- Initiate the medical examination without the survivor’s consent. Her consent (or the consent of her parents if she is a minor) must, by law, be taken in writing.
- Conduct the medical examination in front of multiple members of the survivor’s family or hospital staff.
*This list is, by no means, an exhaustive one.