Women who experience sexual assault still suffer the effects of it even long after the traumatic experience has passed, and one thing that lingers with them is the memory  of the person’s touch on their body. The art piece above is a full nude body picture of  woman with hand paintings in different colours. A 19 year old girl from Nebraska Wesleyan University created this piece which shows the aftermath of sexual assault. She had captured a nude black and white picture of her friend, printed a life–sized version of the picture and then painted hand prints in different colours, each symbolising who she received “touches” from. The colour black represents her mother and blue her father, and can be seen in similar places. they are seen in places such as the body’s hands, having been held in support; on her shoulder in moments of protectiveness and on her knees in times of comfort. Her friends, siblings and lovers are also listed. The colour red represents “someone I told no” and is visible in all places that are private. This art piece is so simple yet sends such a powerful message.

I have experienced sexual harassment as a student not too long ago, and even though it had not been to a point where I felt helpless, I still felt uncomfortable. I was doing my neurology block and one is sometimes required to get into a patient’s personal space to effectively carry out techniques.  A stroke patient with a left hemiplegic presentation had been referred for me to assess and treat. He could not independently sit over the edge of the bed and had poor siting balance The patient was in a room with one bed and no curtain which meant i would have to close the door. I had already then felt uncomfortable but not shown it as it is unprofessional. As I proceeded with the treatments, he first grabbed me at the waist and pulled me closer with his right arm as I was giving him assistance to sit over the edge of the bed with moderate to maximal assistance. He then tried to kiss me and kept complimenting me. He intentionally fell back down onto the bed and then I tried to sit him over the edge of the bed again and he tried this again. In addition to this thew patient also displayed aggressive and impatient behaviour.

I did not know how to respond in this situation. One would think that the patient is a hemiplegic so he cannot do much, but he had sexually harassed me. I was not very affirmative and tried to laugh it off and act calm because I did not know how to handle the situation. I also felt that in that moment it was my responsibility to control the situation in the best way possible. I could not leave the patient at that moment because he would be unsafe and fall; and I could not just stop the session because this patient needed to be treated. I was also alone in the room with him and it was my word against his. I finished up with him after attempting to sit him over the edge of the bed and continued documentation outside of the room after reporting to my clinician. She never said much  about the situation either. And that was the end of it. Nothing was done about the situation, I felt uncomfortable. I was not adequately equipped with knowledge on what to do in this kind of situations.

A stroke can cause many confusing changes in a person’s emotions and behavior. Suddenly, he or she can seem like a completely different person than before the stroke.  Stroke survivors’ brains have been injured which results in the behaviors and emotions they display and are reflections of that injury. The loss of a the individual’s former identity can result in depression, anger, and frustration. (“Behavioral Changes After Stroke | Cleveland Clinic,” n.d.).  The location of the obstruction and the extent of brain tissue affected determines what behavioural, emotional or personality changes the person experiences (Kim, 2016).

The dictionary describes harassment as the act of systematic and/or continued unwanted and annoying actions of one party or group, including threats and demands (“harassment,” n.d.). For the harassment to be considered as a crime, the perpetrator intends their behaviour to cause the victim to fear for his or her safety or the safety of a family member (“Feeling Harassed? – Parry Field Lawyers »,” 2011). From these definitions, it is clear that the harassment needs to be intended and the individual needs to be aware of their actions for the to be wrongful.

This is linked to human rights. As the victim I have the responsibility to report the crime, which I did. in this case I understood that the patient is psychologically impaired and therefore acted in the way that I did. The patient also has a right to a healthy and safe environment that will ensure their physical and mental health or well-being, as well as treatment and rehabilitation (“Here’s What You Need to Know About the Patients’ Rights Charter,” n.d.). I could not act in an irresponsible way.

I felt that I handled the situation in the best way possible by just going on instinct, and there was nothing I would change. Exploring literature on this topic allowed me to see the reasons why I acted in the ways I did and handling the situation in that way I did was the best that I could.

References

Behavioral Changes After Stroke | Cleveland Clinic. (n.d.). Retrieved June 4, 2019, from https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/13485-stroke-emotional–behavioral-changes

Feeling Harassed? – Parry Field Lawyers ». (2011, December 9). Retrieved June 4, 2019, from https://www.parryfield.com/feeling-harassed/

harassment. (n.d.). Retrieved June 4, 2019, from https://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/harassment

Here’s What You Need to Know About the Patients’ Rights Charter. (n.d.). Retrieved June 4, 2019, from https://www.westerncape.gov.za/general-publication/heres-what-you-need-know-about-patients%E2%80%99-rights-charter

Kim, J. (2016). Post-stroke Mood and Emotional Disturbances: Pharmacological Therapy Based on Mechanisms. Journal of Stroke, 18(3), pp.244-255.