I was abused by my GP - wish I'd reported it

[pinkbluepink]

The Jimmy Savile abuse cases have led me to re-think something that happened when I was a teenager.

I was 'abused' by my GP when I was 17 on a visit to the surgery to enquire about going on the pill. My GP asked me to undress and get on the couch so he could 'examine me' before he could recommend going on the pill. At the time I thought it odd, but then having not been in that situation before I obligingly removed my lower items of clothing and hopped onto the couch. The GP then proceeded to give me an 'internal' before returning to his desk and writing a prescription.

It was only much later when discussing going on the pill with friends that I realised what he had done to me was wrong, and even then I was too embarrassed to do anything about it.

In hindsight I wish I had reported him - how many other teenagers did he do this to?

The GP is question is probably dead now, but as a mother of teenage girls it makes me furious that someone in his position felt he was able to do this.

Not sure why I'm posting this now - just wanted to get it off my chest really. Thanks for reading.

[rawsienna]

Ugh.
The more I think about it, the more I realize this,

The 70's was a vile time for women.

So many perverts about. It's horrifying too think of what men thought was acceptable.

[Dizzybintess]

I was prescribed the pill at the age of 16 for heavy periods. this would have been in 94 i'm pretty sure I had to have an internal exam and my mum was with me. They explained they were checking for any cervical changes.

[notarehearsal]

This thread has really made me think. I was on the pill for 20 years, had two children ( by LSCS ) and now HRT. Apart from routine cervical smears I've never actually had a pelvic examination. How odd.....

[maisiejones]

I first got the pill from Marie Stopes in the 70s. Always had a VE by female docs at my appts there. I think it was standard practice

[Lea060398]

As a 17 year old in the late 80s a locus GP (male) insisted A had a breast examination before he prescribed the pill. It made me feel uneasy back then and I still wonder today if it was absolutely necessary?

[Socialmute68]

I revived it then ....is there a problem with that ?or am I just boring you ?

[Socialmute68]

It is a common practice if you have had problems with your periods, heavy bleeding etc, but I was not having any problems, I just wanted to take the pill as a precaution.

[Cricrichan]

Gosh. I went on the pill at 21 in 1991 and wasn't physically examined. I've always asked for a female doctor for anything intimate and put off having a smear for years as I was too embarrassed to have one.

I lived in Japan briefly and had a smear. You sit in a special chair with a curtain dividing your top from your bottom half. Much better!

[Myusernameismyusername]

I can really empathise with the feeling of being violated it's very hard to get right in your head when it is a doctor. When I was first pregnant (very early 20's) I had a horrible pain in my ribs, really awful sharp pain not near the baby and went to GP. He asked to examine me and then IMO he groped my breasts for a considerable length of time. I know he was saying 'it's a breast exam' but the pain was not in my breasts and there was something so horrible about it I cried afterwards. I did not report him but wish I had. I told DP and he was just confused - I went to the doctor and he examined me. Yes,but it was an awful experience

I can only tell you that you should talk to someone, obviously you feel the same way after all this time.

[Myusernameismyusername]

Argh now see zombie!

[flapjackfairy]

When i was pregnant in 1991 i was at the gp. The phone rang when i was in the room and when he answered he proceeded to tell whoever was on the other end that i was one of his favourite patients and he kept going on about what a lovely attractive lady i was. He then walked behind me and ran his hand up the back of my bare arm(short sleeves) and across the back of my neck under my hair.
I was so taken aback i didnt know what to do but there was no way he was going to get his hands (or eyes) on any of my bits after that and i changed gp. The whole thing made me really uncomfortable.
But heres the thing I didnt want to make a fuss as i didnt feel it was enough to warrant an allegation so i did nothing.
How many other women did he do it (or worse) to i wonder.

[exWifebeginsat40]

I gave birth to my daughter in 2000. my GP did a routine internal 'examination' by coming to my house and into my bedroom alone. my perceptions of normal behaviour are very skewed and I still don't know but I'm pretty sure it was a sexual assault. or was this standard practice?

anyway, he's dead now.

[Carl1000]

Skim Read the thread, then went back to P1, and am now in process of reading through.
My views thus far, are expressed in this provisional comment:
Back-in-the-day, "Pill Examinations" were the norm - I question if they should have been the norm - but it is an undeniable fact that they were the norm;
However, even if back-in-the-day "Pill Examinations" should have been the norm, it was totally unacceptable how many of them were conducted ...... male doctors - patients instructed to completely undress (no gown / cover provided) - no chaperones - overly thorough examinations performed - etc etc etc;
As far as I am concerned - because of past wrong doings by the male dominated medical profession, dating back several hundred years - I do not consider that the (still) male dominated medical profession is owed the-benefit-of-the-doubt;
The Oral Contraceptive Pill was introduced in the 1960s, and with it came the advice to periodically monitor patients' health, so that for many years after its introduction, the following events became the norm ...... females, some of such a young age, that it would be incorrect to call them women, attending the surgery - being seen, in the majority of cases, by a male wearing a white coat, bearing the title of Doctor rather than Mister - who then, in many cases, insisted that the patient must be naked for the consultation - with no-one else in the room - the said doctor then proceeded not just to collect cells from the cervix, but before this to thoroughly digitally examine the external genitals, and after this to thoroughly digitally examine the internal genitals;
I have several words for the above ...... absurd, bizarre, disgraceful, disgusting, disrespectful, indecent, immodest, immoral, improper, outrageous, ridiculous, undignified ...... sick

[Colby43443]

I was internally examined in the nineties by my female GP when I asked to go onto the pill. She said she was looking for hpv and abnormaties that suggested infection, because apparently that could cause serious clotting problems. It was prob standard practice for a time tbh

[Kirby16]

This is really difficult for me. But i need to talk to someone. After reading your post, although it is in 2012 when you posted. My thoughts on what i experienced as a child, started when the jimmy savile stories came to light. I stuggled with my own experiences of abuse and now I've found out something that makes me un easy and I dont know what to do. It will be easy for people to say, i need to speak out. But im not sure if i should tell someone in authority what happened to me. I dont trust them now anyway because of my experience. So here goes... please dont judge me or my family.
I dont know where to start really. I dont know what age i was when it happened to me, howeverr i was told i was about 6 years old. I only rememer bits of it. I knew i had to take my trousers down so with this in mind i know it wasnt the first time he had done this to me. I was on the couch. He started to touch me (not internally though). When i was younger i described it as i had a funny feeling happen but i know now he actually made me orgasm.... i sound stupid and feel wrong for telling people. For years i didn't know it was wrong what he did. Then i became sexually active with my 2 year relationship and as a young teen i felt awkward to tell my mum that i was having sex. When i eventually told her i cried, not sure if its because i thought it was wrong or just scared of her reaction. She was fine about it. I then decide to tell her about what happened to me in the drs and i wasnt expecting her reaction. She told me she knew about it. She explained that when i was about 6 and she was helping me dry after a bath. She said that i told her the dr said only mummies and drs touch this area. She said there was a meeting and the dr came to my house with other drs from the practice.(i remember them coming to the house) They said to my mum that my dr thought i was being sexually assaulted at home. I know to this day that wasnt true. I still live in the town and ive had lots of issues with the dr that did this to me. Sometimes i wonder if its true as only have one memory of it. But them emotional feelings i get make me realise it is real. It did happen. Up until i told my mum i thought i was the only one that knew. Since it all came out about jimmy savile. It been at the front if my mind. Im now 39. I more recently found out the nusery my son goes to, is moving near by to where my dr lives. I know hes got parkinson. I only know this because my mum lives near to him. I didnt know he lived there til recently. I dont know what to do. I dont want my son going to nursey neat to where my abuser lives. Ive had many occasions where ive seen him and wanted to ask why. Its not just the abuse its the betrayal that everyone believed himwe live in a town that everyone will know him if i said his name. Ive told my sisters of what happened to me but theyare not very supportive. One of my sisters knew about it but didnt really think what happened actually happened my other sister had no idea and was horrified... they obviously spoke about it and told me of their experience of someone they know making them sit on his lap. Slightly different but they said they never told anyone about it. But they know now it wrong. They told me to talk to my mum but i just couldnt face it back then. Ive not spoken to them about it since. Since 2012 ive spoken to my mum about what happened. I told her ive had counselling because of what happened and that i havent told anyone because whats the point in dragging it up. She told me that he took me to the toliet to get a urine sample and thats when she thought he did it, i told her that, i dont remember that and explained to her that while she was sat in th room i was behind the curtain, on he couch, that's where it happened.i left and after that she messaged me, i think with the feeling of guilt that she didnt do nothing years ago. Now i dont know what to do. Do i tell or do i keep it quiet. Im only considering wanting to tell someone because he is going to be so close to young children, although there is a great deal of safeguarding, i worry because hes well known in the community and liked and was in some kind of authority role. Then people would see it to be ok to be around young children. Please help... xx

[TroysMammy]

I was prescribe the pill aged 17 in 1985 by a female GP. No internal exam but I remember asking her if it would cause me to put on weight to which she replied " not a bad idea as you're thin as a whippet".

[Carl1000]

Having now diligently read through the thread, I now add to my provisional comment.

The Oral Contraceptive Pill first became available in the UK via the NHS in 1961.
It was in the form of either Conovid, Conovid E, or Anovlar all containing high doses of estrogen and-or progestogen each pill used in the 1960s was roughly equivalent to seven of today’s pills.
When it was introduced, doctors regarded The Pill as completely safe.
Although doctors could prescribe the pill with no restrictions, and at their own discretion, it was prescribed mainly to older women who already had children and did not want any more.
As far as health checks were concerned at most patients were asked a few basic Questions, Height measured, Weight taken, Blood Pressure taken, and maybe a visual check of Lower Legs for varicose veins.
But some time after introduction, medical researchers identified some side-effects to The Pill -- leading to the introduction of "Pill Examinations".
In 1967, The Pill was made available to younger women even if they had not at that time had a child or children.
In 1974, it was decided that The Pill could be prescribed, for free, to requesting females even below the age of 18.
Currently, The Oral Contraceptive Pill is considered relatively safe.

[USPSTF = United States Preventive Services Task Force]
[ACOG = American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists]
Statement by ACOG: "The USPSTF’s draft recommendation statement concludes that there is not enough evidence to determine the benefits or harms of performing screening pelvic exams in asymptomatic, non-pregnant, adult women for four specific conditions: ovarian cancer, bacterial vaginosis, genital herpes and trichomoniasis ...
... "ACOG is reviewing the USPSTF’s draft recommendation statement and the evidence upon which it is based to assess whether there is a need to update its guidance on the routine pelvic examination. ACOG recommends annual pelvic examinations for patients 21 years of age or older. However, the College [ACOG] recognizes that this recommendation is based on expert opinion, and limitations of the internal pelvic examination for screening should be recognized ..."

My own current very humble opinion, with specific regard to Pap Smear Testing done by Female Nurses based in GPs Surgeries, is one of neutrality in light of conflicting information on the one hand, such testing may be useful detection on the other hand, I have read more than once, that repeated damaging of the Cervix caused by scraping, can cause certain medical conditions possibly even cancer -- so, at the very least, Pap Smear Testing done by current methods, needs to be reviewed immediately.

Sources:
home.bt.com/news/world-news/december-4-1961-birth-control-pill-becomes-available-on-the-nhs-for-first-time-11363947767084
yesterday.uktv.co.uk/history/article/pill/
www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/Documents/Jul_-_Sep_10_Contraceptives.pdf
www.acog.org/About-ACOG/News-Room/Statements/2016/ACOG-Statement-on-USPSTF-Draft-Recommendations-on-Pelvic-Exams

Now, refering back to the back-in-the-day "Pill Examinations" I once again state it was totally unacceptable how many of these examinations were conducted:
Females, some of such a young age, that it would be incorrect to call them women, attending the surgery and being seen, in the majority of cases, by male doctors;
The doctors, in many cases, insisted that patients must be naked for these examinations, and so instructed patients to completely undress (no gown / cover provided);
The doctors performed most of these examinations with no third party present [not even a patient's husband], thus no chaperones;
The doctors then proceeded not just to collect cells from the cervix, but before this to thoroughly digitally examine the external genitals, and after this to thoroughly digitally examine the internal genitals, hence overly thorough examinations were performed.
The doctors took full advantage of these situations as evidenced by their practices -- these practices really were ... absurd, bizarre, disgraceful, disgusting, disrespectful, indecent, immodest, immoral, improper, outrageous, perverse, ridiculous, undignified ... sick.

[stopfuckingshoutingatme]

napac.org.uk/


Kirby why not give these people a call? x

[ddssdd]

OP, That's horrendous. And people who are in a position of power too I had something similar happen with a 'first response' paramedic a couple of years ago. To cut a very long story short, he told me I needed to take my T-shirt and bra off so he could put those sticky pad things on. I remember wanting to move my hand up to where my breast was (to shield my modesty) and he told me they needed to stay by my side. Having spoken with people since, this had never happened to them. And one particular friend did not have to remove her bra. I went, via ambulance, to the hospital & noticed he had written in my notes that I had said I had chest pain (I most certainly didn't). I remember him asking a lot of questions too, such as: who was in the house, did I have a partner, etc.

Thank you, op. This has played on my mind since it has happened & I am finally going to report him

[AllenFi1962]

I know the thread has been rumbling along for many years, and please excuse me for posting in a 'zombie thread', I apologise but believe this is the right place for this discussion and only recently have I become aware that what happened to me might have been abuse

Some comments have been about employment medicals. At age 16, late70's I was offered my first job and one condition was having a medical exam, I was told where to go and when, an ageing male doctor (no chaperone) had me undress completely and gave me a breast exam and internal, possibly a smear, it was very embarrassing and uncomfortable, only now after catching up with the Barclays Bank story that I think this may be been wrong

If you missed the Barclays issue, read here
www.slatergordon.co.uk/media-centre/press-releases/2017/07/doctors-abuse-victims-win-right-to-fight-barclays-for-compensation/

Again, sorry for posting in an old thread, but this is new research for me

[Shopkinsdoll]

In the 80s my friend had a car accident and broke her leg. Months later still recovering a doctor came in to examine her. Felt her breasts and left. She thought it was so bizarre, but at 15/16 she never said anything.

[AllenFi1962]

Thanks for the comment @Shopkinsdoll, I didn't expect much more to be added, I think this thread has been well run now, however what you say does add evidence to the fact that things were not always what they should be

I am from an age when you had your pregnancy confirmed by the GP doing an internal and like many comments here I had a smear test and breast check when I went on the pill and quite often when I had follow on prescriptions, I also had the post natal 'six week' exam, again with an internal, in most cases if not all (I can't remember) it was a male GP, that was never an issue, it was best practice at that time, and as young women it was almost expected that at some point we would have to strip off and be prodded and poked, I recall watching a film at school about growing up/puberty/adolescence etc and a cartoon image of a girl having an exam with a (male) doctor

But I do think many inappropriate and unnecessary intimate examinations were carried out on younger and vulnerable girls/women, and Harvey Weinstein situation at the moment (along with all the historical Saville and the aforementioned Barclays case) shows this

Where does it stop, and how much more is there still to come out

[akaWisey]

My mother took me to the GP when I was 8 years old because I had travel sickness and unexplained tummy aches before getting into a vehicle.

GP gave me an internal whilst my mum sat the other side of the curtain. It was extremely scary and didn't feel right. But I said nothing.

about 30 years later I was training as a nurse and someone who was working on the ward I was a student nurse on mentioned the GP's name in the context of him "being a dirty old bastard who'd find any excuse to handle your tits".
I've never told anyone and he's long dead now.