Horror stories of a woman doctor: Dealing with men who like to 'show off'

"Nobody prepares us for such incidents...nobody tells us during college about how to deal with such cases," says Dr Athira.
Horror stories of a woman doctor: Dealing with men who like to 'show off'
Horror stories of a woman doctor: Dealing with men who like to 'show off'
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“We are as vulnerable as any other woman on the street….as any working woman in society,” says Dr Athira Darsan, as she recounted her constant brush with male exhibitionists.

Two years ago, when 26-year old Athira joined a Community Health Centre in Kerala as a house surgeon, nothing prepared her for the male exhibitionism that came her way. Late one evening, a middle-aged man walked in complaining of a boil on his penis.

Recalling the same in a Facebook post on February 2, Athira wrote:

"I could not have prescribed medicines without a detailed examination. Not only did I not find anything abnormal, I soon realized he was an exhibitionist. I chose to ignore, sending him back saying he could consult a senior doctor the next day.

Apparently, he did this regularly….. walking into Health Centres with similar  complaints, to derive whatever little  pleasure he got during examination!"

In a telephonic conversation with The News Minute, Dr Athira says that nothing in their medical education prepares them for such incidents:

"Nobody prepares us for such incidents...nobody tells us during college about how to deal with such cases. It is only in the course of our practice that we learn to cope. Being doctors, we realize that such patients have a psychological disorder, and we make it a point not to provoke them. As lady-doctors, we tend to ignore them. None actually address the underlying cause… I don't think anybody knows how to.”

She also feels that the general perception that women doctors face no such sexual harassment needs to change.

“Often, men take advantage of the fact that we are doctors, to slip in sexually explicit messages. Even online, we are not spared. I have had men messaging me on Facebook seeking medical advice, some of which are not at all genuine," Dr. Athira wrote.

She even shared a few screenshots of messages from a male user who repeatedly sought medical help for reported ‘problems’ he faces during masturbation.

Speaking about an incident that happened a few years ago, when a lady-doctor was attacked by a male patient at the hospital one night, Dr Athira shares:

"In Primary Health Centres, at night, you will have only three staff members -mostly women- on duty. You can imagine the lack of security there is. In big hospitals -both government and private- there is always enough security in place.  After I moved to a private hospital, I have never had any bitter experiences of the sort, but I am sure, many of lady-doctors would agree with me." 

After her post went viral, she says that a few of her colleagues too spoke about similar experiences. 

Read her Facebook post here:

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