Female Health Practitioners Disciplined for Sexual Misconduct

Millbank, J

Female Health Practitioners Disciplined for Sexual Misconduct

Millbank, J

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Publisher:: Law School, University of New South Wales
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: University of New South Wales Law Journal, 2020, 43, (4), pp. 1244-1270
Issue Date:: 2020-11-02

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Millbank, J https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8934-7945
dc.date.accessioned	2020-12-06T23:16:10Z
dc.date.available	2020-12-06T23:16:10Z
dc.date.issued	2020-11-02
dc.identifier.citation	University of New South Wales Law Journal, 2020, 43, (4), pp. 1244-1270
dc.identifier.issn	0313-0096
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/144503
dc.description.abstract	Within a broader study of Australian tribunal determinations concerning sexual misconduct by the five major health professions (2010–17) it became apparent that a sizable minority of disciplinary cases were brought against female practitioners for engaging in sexual relationships with patients. This article examines cases involving female doctors, psychologists, and nurses to explore their distinctly gendered aspects. There were differences apparent between cases involving female and male practitioners, in terms of vulnerability of patients and degree of exploitation, which go some way to explaining an overall trend of less severe outcomes for female respondents in cases at the tribunal level. However, there were also issues that were entirely distinct in the female cases, being the occurrence of: incarcerated patients; patient suicide; and same-sex relationships. I suggest that the first two of these issues would generally be regarded as severely aggravating (but were not always assessed as such), while the complexity of the third in terms of the broader social context may not have been well understood. The distinctive features of female cases suggest that there may need to be a rethinking in order to target ethical guidance and training on sexual misconduct in a gender-specific way.
dc.language	en
dc.publisher	Law School, University of New South Wales
dc.relation.ispartof	University of New South Wales Law Journal
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess
dc.subject	1801 Law
dc.title	Female Health Practitioners Disciplined for Sexual Misconduct
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	43
utslib.for	1801 Law
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Law
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Strength - HJ - Health Justice
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
utslib.copyright.status	recently_added	*
pubs.consider-herdc	true
dc.date.updated	2020-12-06T23:16:05Z
pubs.issue	4
pubs.publication-status	Published
pubs.volume	43
utslib.citation.issue	4

Abstract:

Within a broader study of Australian tribunal determinations concerning sexual misconduct by the five major health professions (2010–17) it became apparent that a sizable minority of disciplinary cases were brought against female practitioners for engaging in sexual relationships with patients. This article examines cases involving female doctors, psychologists, and nurses to explore their distinctly gendered aspects. There were differences apparent between cases involving female and male practitioners, in terms of vulnerability of patients and degree of exploitation, which go some way to explaining an overall trend of less severe outcomes for female respondents in cases at the tribunal level. However, there were also issues that were entirely distinct in the female cases, being the occurrence of: incarcerated patients; patient suicide; and same-sex relationships. I suggest that the first two of these issues would generally be regarded as severely aggravating (but were not always assessed as such), while the complexity of the third in terms of the broader social context may not have been well understood. The distinctive features of female cases suggest that there may need to be a rethinking in order to target ethical guidance and training on sexual misconduct in a gender-specific way.

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:

http://hdl.handle.net/10453/144503