More than 30 incidents of sexual misconduct reported in past 15 months; 5 to 10 cases a year would get reported earlier
More than 30 incidents of sexual misconduct reported in past 15 months; 5 to 10 cases a year would get reported earlier
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Nurses working in government-run hospitals are determined not to suffer a fate like that of Aruna Shanbaug, the Mumbai nurse who was sexually abused and attacked by a ward boy and has been living in a vegetative state for the last 37 years.
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| Nursing wounds: Anuradha Athawale (left) and Suman Tilekar from the Maharashtra Government Nurses Federation. PIc/Vivek Sabnis |
In the past 15 months, over 30 cases have been reported to the Maharashtra Government Nurses Federation (MGNF), while earlier it was just five to 10 cases a year.u00a0
Anuradha Athawale, president of MGNF, has ascribed the spurt in complaints to the fear of suffering a fate similar to that of Shanbaug.
Athawale said most cases of sexual misdemeanours were mainly reported in Meeraj, Tasgaon, Vaijapur, Thane, Buldhana and Savner areas.
"Most recently, a case of sexual harassment was reported in Thergaon near Pune," she said. "The young and good-looking nurses fall victim to doctors or other male staff members, sometimes even by relatives of patients."
Athawale said many nurses desisted from reporting such cases to the police as they felt their career might suffer. "A victim of sexual harassment or rape is considered a social stigma," Athawale said.
On receiving such complaints, the MGNF intervenes and reports it to the hospital administration concerned. If the concerned doctor is found guilty, then he is suspended from the job, Athawale said.u00a0 "Names of the doctors are kept a secret by the hospital so as to not hamper their career," Athawale said.u00a0
Athawale gave the example of a doctor from Miraj Government Hospital who lured a nurse into a sexual relationship with the promise of marriage. When he reneged on his word, the nurse reported him to the federation. "When we intervened, the doctor married the nurse. Until he agreed to marry her, he was suspended from his job," Athawale said.u00a0
Another nurse from the government hospital in Buldhana faced a similar situation, said Suman Tilekar, treasurer at MGNF.
"We compel the hospital administration to take stern action against the doctors in such cases," she said.
Vidya Bal, veteran woman activist and founder of Nari Samata Manch, said, "We rehabilitate the victims in such cases by counselling them."
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