*from ProPublica, September 2023, and worth reading and sharing widely…authors: Adriana Gallardo, for ProPublica, and Jessica Schreifels, for The Salt Lake Tribune. This guide was created in response to ProPublica and the Tribune reporting on abuse by OB/GYNs, and hearing from women who simply did not know what behaviors, procedures and etc. were normal, and which were not. I remember my own first visit to a gynecologist, when I was living in NYC, in my early twenties – they could not have been kinder or more professional. I was so ignorant, embarrassed, and scared (pretending still I wasn’t having sex, and other idiocies plus, everybody knows only sluts use PP, etc., etc., ad nauseam) – yet because I was so ignorant, a predatory doctor could have taken advantage. Ignorance and a lack of hands-on ownership and love, yes love for our own bodies, endangers women and girls. The Guide:
As journalists, we often talk to people about difficult things. We listen for themes and systemic issues that tie their stories together. Both of us have spent years hearing from those who say they were sexually assaulted — most recently dozens of women who told us about alleged misconduct by their Utah OB-GYN. These are not easy conversations to have, but they are important. They also teach us a lot about what women knew at the time of their appointments and what they wish they had known.
“I wish I would have known that I could speak up, say that I am uncomfortable or just ask him to stop,” said Ashton Sorenson, who is one of more than 100 women who have come forward in various lawsuits to accuse the OB-GYN of sexual assault. “I wish I knew that I could ask for a nurse to be present. I wish I could have known that I could challenge and question a doctor even though he was in an authority position.” The doctor’s lawyer has declined an interview request but has said they believe the allegations “are without merit.” Next month, the Utah Supreme Court is set to hear an appeal in a civil case brought by his patients.
Some told us they knew right away that the way their OB-GYN had touched them during their exam felt wrong — but they pushed off that gut feeling because he was a doctor or they were new to pelvic exams. Others thought the pain they felt during and following those exams was normal. Many women only started to characterize their experience as sexual assault after reading and hearing stories from other women who made similar claims.
In another recent story, women who saw an OB-GYN in NYC over decades related a similar pattern of disbelief and reckoning after he sexually assaulted them during exams — and a sense, as one victim said, that “I’m alone here.” When one survivor, Evelyn Yang, began to realize she was not the only one, she turned to Google to search for the doctor. “The next thing she put into the search bar,” ProPublica fellow Bianca Fortis and co-reporter Laura Beil wrote, “was ‘What to do if you’re assaulted by your doctor.’” (The doctor is now serving 20 years in prison for his actions.)
We want to help fill this information gap. We went to experts including an OB-GYN, a medical ethics professor and researcher, plus several of the patients in Utah who sued their doctor for sexual assault. We asked them to answer key questions that could help others interpret what is normal, and what’s not, during a visit to the OB-GYN.
To be clear, a victim is never at fault for sexual abuse. This guide does not provide medical or legal advice, and we encourage you to seek out other reliable resources and consult with people you trust.
What to Expect at Your Gynecologist’s Office
Your first meeting with your doctor should be about getting to know each other and building trust, according to Dr. Kavita Arora, an OB-GYN with the University of North Carolina’s Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the former chair of the national ethics committee for American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. You may talk about your overall physical and mental well-being and any history of women’s health issues in your family.
Typically, you will meet with a nurse or medical assistant before the gynecologist enters the room. The nurse will likely check your weight and blood pressure and ask general questions.
“The important thing is that everyone be on the same page before the exam,” Arora said.
At an OB-GYN visit, Arora said, you should always:
- Know who is going to be doing the exam.
- Know who else will be in the room.
- Know what parts of your body they plan to examine.
She said that information can help you decide what you are and are not comfortable with, and give you an opportunity to speak up. You can continue to ask questions throughout the visit and exam.
You can ask:
- What are the goals for today’s visit?
- Which exams are we going to do and why?
- What is the best way to let you know if I’m uncomfortable?
- Can I have a friend or family member in the room for an exam?
- How should I contact you with follow up questions? Do you prefer calls, texts, email or a patient portal?
What You Can Do if You Feel Uncomfortable During an OB-GYN Visit
If you have a question or something feels off, the medical experts and patients we talked to said it’s OK to ask the OB-GYN to stop no matter where you are in the process of the exam or the visit.
When in doubt, trust what you feel, said James M. DuBois, the director of the Bioethics Research Center at Washington University in St. Louis. “People are much better at recognizing what’s odd [or] what makes them feel uncomfortable than recognizing, ‘Oh, this meets the definition of sexual abuse.’”
If you are uncomfortable, in pain or confused about what is happening, Arora suggested saying:
- “Can you please stop?”
- “Let’s talk about this.”
- “Can you explain why we’re doing this?”
“It’s better to simply ask to stop and then give the OB-GYN the ability to answer that question,” Arora said. “At the end of the day, if the patient says stop, the clinician needs to stop.”
The experts and patients we’ve talked to said: If you are uncomfortable, take it seriously.
“If you feel something isn’t quite right, then go with your gut!” said Jackie Colton, who is among the 94 women who sued an OB-GYN in Utah.
How often does sexual misconduct happen in medicine?
DuBois says no one knows how often sexual misconduct happens in medicine. Official records only include cases people report, and research shows there are many reasons patients and providers choose not to tell officials.
To learn more about a specific physician, DuBois and his team put together a set of resources patients can use to look up their doctors and see if there have been complaints in the past.
What ethics codes are in place for doctors?
The medical profession follows a range of ethics codes established in part by medical schools, membership associations and hospital systems. The Hippocratic oath is a commonly known pledge that defines the core values for the profession. Among the many values the oath inspires, a doctor vows to respect the anatomy and dignity of their patients.
Every state has a law called a Medical Practice Act laying out what is and isn’t considered professional.
What is considered sexual misconduct by an OB-GYN?
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists is the lead professional organization for OB-GYNs in the U.S. It provides guidance and recommendations for care and patient interaction. ACOG’s Committee on Ethics defines sexual misconduct as “an abuse of power and a violation of patients’ trust.”
The Federation of State Medical Boards puts out guidelines to define what counts as inappropriate behavior. Some examples include:
- Making inappropriate comments about a patient’s body.
- Joking about a patient’s sexual orientation.
- Flirting.
- Watching a patient undress.
- Performing an intimate exam without a valid medical reason.
- Inviting medical students into the room during an exam without asking the patient for permission.
- Bringing up the physician’s own sexual likes or dislikes.
- Unwanted touching or fondling.
- Asking the patient to masturbate.
Physicians may not participate in any kind of romantic or sexual relationship with a current patient, even if the patient appears to initiate or agree to it. The Federation of State Medical Boards says this is because physician misconduct often begins with manipulation tactics called “grooming” behaviors. Even if comments may not meet the definition of misconduct at first, anything that eventually escalates to sexual contact is considered unethical.
ACOG’s Committee on Ethics Explains: “Such interactions may exploit patients’ vulnerability, compromise physicians’ ability to make objective judgments about patients’ health care, and ultimately be detrimental to patients’ long-term health.”
***follow-up articles from the Tribune & ProPublica re: the abusive Utah and NYC OB-GYNs:
https://www.sltrib.com/news/2025/01/06/david-broadbent-now-more-than-200/
https://www.propublica.org/article/columbia-obgyn-sexually-assaulted-patients-for-20-years