Turning Away Rape Victims

The article made me very upset. It seems that whenever the profit motive rears its ugly head, people suffer. In this particular case rape victims, women who already have been traumatized, must undergo further disrespect, embarrassment and far more significantly, prejudice, as a result of most hospitals’ refusal to do the evidence collection exam and expanded form.

As a clinical social worker who works with physicians, I am aware that the form is not that difficult and the exam only slightly more involved than previously. It is time consuming and perhaps even distressing if we let ourselves feel these women’s pain. But let’s be honest; it is the money which is the disincentive for treating these women with dignity and compassion! Would a little extra time or even several hours of additional time be too much to ask if it was your mother or daughter or wife who had been raped?

We must remember that these new protocols have been instituted to enhance the process of evidence collection, thereby increasing the possibility of catching and convicting rapists.

We, as a humane society, cannot continue to perpetuate misogyny by relegating the care of women who have been raped to a few hospitals. Hospitals should take up the challenge to provide quality care to women who have been raped and do these exams! To do less in unconscionable.

DEBORAH

SILVERMAN-POULSON

Westchester