The one place I hate going most is where the sexual abuse I experienced continues to be played out time and time again; a doctor's exam table. There isn't a memory I have where the appointment wasn't invasive or traumatizing. I think the first being from around the age of three. I was completely naked with my legs spread-eagle on a gurney as a nurse inserted her gloved finger into me. A few years later my already prevalent freeze response left me defenseless from a male doctor who lifted the...

Dear Doctor: A Letter from a Survivor of Sexual Trauma to all Medical Professionals Dear Doctor, As a medical professional you have taken an oath to do no harm, but there are ways in which you can hurt your patients without even recognizing you are doing so. What seems to you as a simple exam may cause injury to those who have been victimized by someone's touch. This is a subject that we, survivors of sexual violence, have been meaning to discuss with you for some time now, but your...