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UK
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USA
What to do if…
a healthcare professional performs intimate touching or an examination without your consent
Short answer
End the contact and move to a safer, private place if you can. Call 999 if you are in immediate danger or have a life-threatening medical emergency; otherwise, contact a different healthcare professional or a specialist sexual assault service for support.
Do not do these things
- Do not force yourself to decide immediately what to call what happened.
- Do not blame yourself for freezing, staying quiet, complying, or feeling unable to leave.
- Do not return to the same professional alone if that feels unsafe.
- Avoid confronting the professional while you feel distressed or unsafe.
- Avoid posting identifying details publicly while you decide what support you want.
- Do not delay urgent medical care because you are unsure whether to report what happened.
What to do now
- Leave the examination or treatment area if it is safe to do so. Ask another staff member, reception, security, or someone you trust to help you reach a private place.
- Call 999 if there is immediate danger or a life-threatening medical emergency. For other urgent health concerns, ask to be assessed by a different clinician.
- Contact a specialist sexual assault service, such as a sexual assault referral centre or sexual assault response co-ordination service. They can discuss healthcare, practical support, and your options without requiring you to decide immediately whether to contact the police.
- Ask a trusted person to stay with you, accompany you, or help make calls. You can share only what you choose.
- For healthcare you still need, ask for a different professional and a chaperone. Ask them to explain each step, seek your permission before touching, and stop immediately if you ask.
- Tell the clinic or service that you do not want further appointments or direct contact with that professional while you arrange alternative care.
- If this happened recently and you may want forensic options, consider avoiding washing or changing clothes until you have spoken to a specialist service, but seek support even if you have already done either.
- If you are under 18, contact a safe adult, another healthcare professional, or a specialist service as soon as you can.
What can wait
You do not need to decide now whether to contact the police, make a formal complaint, request records, change healthcare providers permanently, seek legal advice, or use a particular label for what happened. Longer-term decisions can wait until you are safe and supported.
Important reassurance
What happened matters, even if you are uncertain about it or did not object in the moment. Freezing, staying quiet, or complying because a healthcare professional held authority does not make this your fault, and you remain in control of what support you seek next.
Scope note
This guide covers immediate safety, healthcare, and specialist support only. Later decisions about complaints, reporting, records, or legal options may require help from a specialist support service or qualified adviser.
Important note
This is general information, not legal, medical, therapeutic, or other professional advice. Intimate examinations normally require consent, but limited circumstances can involve other valid authority, including capacity and best-interests rules or rules applying to children and young people. Services and procedures vary across the four UK nations and according to age and circumstances, so use the official service covering where you are.
Additional Resources
- Gmc Uk — Intimate examinations and chaperones
- nhs.uk — Consent to treatment
- nhs.uk — Help after rape and sexual assault
- NHS — Find a rape and sexual assault referral centre
- NHS inform — Help after a rape or sexual assault
- NHS Wales Performance and Improvement — Access a SARC
- nidirect — The Rowan - Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC)
- The Survivors Trust — Support in Your Area
About this guide
This guide was produced and is maintained by PanicStation.org using its published editorial process. Official and specialist sources are checked where relevant, and AI-assisted tools may be used for drafting, organisation, and consistency checks. The site operator remains responsible for publication, revision, and removal decisions.