What Evidence Is Needed To Prove Sex Abuse By A Doctor

The evidence that you need to prove the case is very tricky because, unless there’s, say, a rape kit, there’s probably not going to be physical evidence. There will be medical records from the visit, but certainly, the perpetrator—the defendant—is not going to put in the file what they did exactly that rose to the level of criminal behavior or at least civilly liable behavior.

So there are certain important steps that you could take, and the most important step is telling somebody what happened—somebody that you can confide in, whether it’s your mother, your father, somebody from your church or other religious institution, or a very trustworthy friend. I know that it’s hard, and a lot of people do suffer in silence, but the most critical thing, for one reason or another, in terms of witness credibility, is if you told somebody what happened at the time.
Now, there are probably ways that we could make doctors’ offices safer. It might be cameras, whether photo cameras or video cameras. It might be having a neutral third party standing in the room. There are a lot of different possibilities out there, but I think the most important thing is—if something happens to you, say something.

So I do recommend reaching out to Helping Survivors. They’re certainly going to chronicle your story—confidentially, of course. If you do speak up, it’s an act of bravery that will not only help you, the victim, but you may actually save someone else from going through what you’ve been through. If this is a pattern and it turns out that you are, unfortunately, one of many victims, by reporting the conduct, you may be opening the door for someone else to come forward. And your reporting and the other person’s reporting may stop this from happening to other people.