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When a female patient goes to a doctor for emergency treatment and only a male doctor is available, this creates a lot of ethical issues if it is a private examination and needs the patient to lay bare her body, it makes her uncomfortable and vulnerable.
When the ordeal is over and she gets medicines or the required procedure is completed, she goes home thinking all this over and can breathe a sigh of relief. But when the patient sees that the doctor who examined her took the time to search her personal details and to send her a friend request on Facebook, it amounts to a breach of confidentiality, professional standards of conduct and misuse of personal information.
It is harrowing, to say the least. The doctor in question had a history of engaging in such malpractices and that is the reason he was suspended. AKUH is not run by SOC. Please understand that victim blaming and victim shaming culture has wrecked havoc upon people’s lives. Perpetrators usually go free. Don’t be a part of this. This is not harassment. The choice of words was wrong but involves a whole lot of other problems. Please read up on British medical association guidelines for social media conduct of doctors and you will understand why this action was taken.
This is not about Sharmeen Obaid, her sister or that doctor personally. But professionally, this needed an action from the authorities. In a country where revenge rapes, harassment of all kinds(not just sexual), honor killing are the norm, whoever raises such issues should be applauded. Their status should not matter. Whether it is Sharmeen or anyone else. If we say Sharmeen is powerful, then that doctor also had male privilege which is why everyone is downplaying his role in this entire situation.
Male privilege, a culture of impunity for the consequences of their actions, violations of rules and regulations, all this also merits a discussion. We should also talk about if this is a pattern for that doctor. Does he add all his patients or only the ones he is attracted to or wants to befriend? And has he engaged in this type of behavior before? Secondly, if a father of four children decides to engage in such malpractices, he should just be let off without any punitive action? Accountability for his actions rests with the doctor only.
No one can engage in professional malpractices and use their children as shields against being awarded punishment. By that logic, no criminal would ever be punished. In England, this could lead to a civil suit in the court of law, elsewhere criminal proceedings could also be initiated. I know because I belong to a family of barristers and police officers. So please, instead of sharing things which discourage victims or disadvantaged groups from coming forward, we should share information which would open the minds of the people of this country.
