Two minor employees of the Kalubowila hospital sought the help of a female co-worker to move a body within the morgue. Not used to such a task, she fainted. When she regained her consciousness, she found herself lying on the floor and realised she had been sexually abused. However, she did not lodge a complaint [...]

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Rising sex abuse cases make state health sector sick

By Chamal Weerakkody
Victims reluctant to complain; Health minister vows tough action, but unions want effective measures to wipe out the blight
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Two minor employees of the Kalubowila hospital sought the help of a female co-worker to move a body within the morgue. Not used to such a task, she fainted. When she regained her consciousness, she found herself lying on the floor and realised she had been sexually abused.

However, she did not lodge a complaint with the police or the investigation unit of the Health Ministry as she feared reprisals from the two employees, though the story reached the ears of the authorities through other channels.

In another case, a woman employee transferred from Anuradhapura to the Medical Research Institute in Colombo was sexually molested by some male workers. She sought a transfer back to Anuradhapura, but decided not to make an official complaint.

The two incidents were among a number of sex-abuse cases reported in hospitals and institutions in the health sector. Except for a few, many cases have gone unreported, the Sunday Times learns.

Last week, Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena addressing a book-launch ceremony revealed that several female minor employees and even executive level employees in the health sector had become victims to sex offenders in state health sector.

The minister told the Sunday Times the rise in sex-abuse cases in the state health sector had prompted him to hold workshops and seminars for health sector employees to create awareness about the gravity of the crime, women’s rights and the legal provisions that dealt with sexual abuse of co-workers.

Mr. Sirisena said he had set up disciplinary committees with powers to take action against offenders and hand over the culprits to the police if they had committed a serious offence such as rape.

He said that in most cases, the victims, including doctors, secretaries, nurses and female minor employees, feared that if they complained to the ministry, the offenders would cause them more harm. Another factor that dissuaded the victims from making complaints was the social stigma attached to sex abuse incidents, the minister said.

The victims’ reluctance to complain or cooperate had hampered measures to eradicate this blight plaguing the state health sector. Despite this drawback, the investigation unit of the ministry had taken measures to probe fully all complaints that were brought to its attention, the minister said.

The minister urged the victims to come forward and make complaints saying their identity would be protected and that the disciplinary committees accepted both written and verbal testimonies.

The minister said he believed the use of modern mobile phones with instant access to internet porn was one of the factors that had contributed to the rise of sex offences in workplaces. Easy access to pornography led to sex offences, he said.

He said the media also should share the responsibility because some dramas and magazines had sexually explicit material that arouses the readers or the viewers and corrupts their minds to commit sex offences.
The minister also identified poverty or the poor economic condition of the victims for their reluctance to make complaints. They wanted to protect their jobs.

Public Services United Nurses Union (PSUNU) President Ven. Muruththettuwe Ananda Thera said if the state health sector was to be cleansed of such abominable happenings, measures should be taken to prevent politicians and top officials from interfering in investigations and protecting the offenders.

Government Nursing Officers Association (GNOA) President Saman Rathnapriya said the victims were reluctant to make a complaint against their superiors because they feared they would be further victimised or transferred to a rural area on some grounds or other.

All Ceylon Health Services Union (ACHSU) General Secretary Gamini Kumarasinghe said the investigation unit of the ministry should be more efficient in enforcing discipline on health sector employees. The Health Minister and the unit should take more effective measures to crack down on such offences because the offenders had not spared even the patients.

Human Rights Lawyer Transparency International Sri Lanka Executive Director J. C. Weliamuna said some public officers were in the habit of soliciting sexual bribes from female and male subordinates to grant them transfers, promotions or increments.

He said according to the recent amendments made to the law, sexual harassment had been identified as a serious criminal offence and a person found guilty of such a crime could be sentenced to ten years.

According to Mr. Weliamuna, the victims could make a complaint to the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption because most sex abuse cases amounted to sexual bribery.

A police official said a complaint could also be lodged with the women’s desk at the police which would investigate, arrest and file charges against the suspect under the Women’s Charter and other laws that protect the dignity of women.




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