Six years ago today, I became a victim of medicalized sexual violence at the hands of a gynecologist who used his position of power to assault me while I was unconscious, removing healthy tissue without my consent. I reported his actions to Delaware’s licensing board, only to be met with institutional betrayal at every turn. Despite clear evidence in my medical records, a deputy attorney general dismissed my case, echoing the institutional betrayal seen in other high-profile cases, such as Larry Nassar, Robert Hadden, and Delaware’s own Earl Bradley, the “pedophile pediatrician.” Layers of protection allowed them to perpetrate for years or decades after the first complaint. These patterns are not isolated; they are systemic.
As I’ve labored to recover physically and neurophysiologically from this betrayal, I’ve also spent years analyzing how such predators operate and why institutions enable them. My painting, a graph titled Distribution of Predators in Healthcare, illustrates the systemic conditions that allow sexualized violence to thrive in medicine. It maps the relationship between access to vulnerable patients and the lack of accountability measures, showing how certain fields, like gynecology, pediatrics, and mental health, become hotspots for predatory behavior. This work reflects my experience and a call to expose the structural failures that perpetuate harm.
Axes of Vulnerability and Accountability
The vertical axis represents access to vulnerable targets, while the horizontal axis reflects accountability, defined as the presence of safety protocols to protect patients from predatory behaviors and enforce penalties for those who commit such acts. The most vulnerable targets are the most targeted. The highest incidence of sexualized violence is perpetrated in the fields of pediatrics, gynecology, mental health, and family medicine.
Predator Hotspot: The Top-Left Quadrant
According to a 2017 analysis of 101 physician sexual offenders, “most cases involved more than five victims (57%) who were adults (60%) and women (89%). In 96% of cases, the abuse was repeated; in 58% of cases, it lasted for more than 2 years. Nearly all (88%) cases involved multiple kinds of professional breaches.”
Professionals who commit sexual misconduct may exploit their positions in fields like gynecology or pediatrics, where patients are particularly vulnerable and trust is paramount. A report by the Federation of State Medical Boards highlights that organizational cultures lacking robust oversight enable such misconduct. High-profile cases like Earl Bradley and Larry Nassar highlight how unchecked access to vulnerable patients, combined with weak institutional accountability, creates environments where abuse can occur repeatedly.
The predator population is highest in the top-left quadrant of the chart, where access to vulnerable targets is greatest and accountability measures are weakest. This distribution illustrates how the incidence of sexualized violence in healthcare stems directly from two institutional factors: insufficient safety protocols and lack of accountability. Institutions that fail in these areas foster environments where predators thrive and continue to harm patients, perpetuating cycles of abuse.
Institutional Failures Foster Predatory Behavior
When licensing boards and institutions fail to act, the trauma of sexualized violence in medicine is compounded by institutional betrayal, a devastating breach of trust that leaves victims isolated and perpetrators shielded. These systemic failures erode the foundational principles of justice, safety, and care that medicine is supposed to represent.
The Impact of Institutional Betrayal
The silence and cover-ups are symptoms of a larger pattern of systemic dysfunction, driven by profit motives, reputational concerns, and an unwillingness to confront uncomfortable truths that prioritize institutional self-preservation over patient safety. This systemic betrayal not only harms individual survivors but also undermines public trust in healthcare.
Impact on Long-Term Neurobiological Health
As noted in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s 2016 serial expose of predators in medicine, “the damage to patients can last for years – if not forever.” The systemic shielding of perpetrators creates a rupture in survivors’ trust in individuals and in societal structures meant to protect them. This compounds their sense of vulnerability and disconnection from the larger social world. Chronic states of dysregulation and betrayal alter brain function, leading to long-term issues like complex PTSD, emotional dysregulation, and impaired cognitive processing.
The Role of Silence and Cover-Ups in Systemic Failure
These systemic failures are not isolated incidents. They are part of an entrenched culture that protects predators at the expense of victims. My fight for justice is not just about my own experience; it is about exposing these failures and demanding accountability to protect others. Institutions must prioritize the implementation of robust safety protocols and accountability measures to disrupt this harmful cycle and rebuild trust in healthcare.
This post includes content generated by ChatGPT, a language model developed by OpenAI. The AI-generated content has been reviewed and edited for accuracy and relevance.
