When it comes to massage or similar heath treatments, is there a grey area between what sort of touch is ok and what isn’t?
It sounds like a ridiculous question – it would be fair to assume that health care professionals are well aware of patient boundaries and fully understand where the line falls.
However, a Bondi Junction osteopath charged with raping and indecently assaulting a patient claims that the intimate way he touched his alleged victim has been misinterpreted.
Police allege that 38-year-old Gene Scorringe assaulted a 23-year-old patient during massages on two occasions in March. He has pleaded not guilty.
Scorringe’s barrister, David McCallum, said that while his client intends to plead not guilty he does admit that there may have been “inadvertent or accidental touching.”
“He’s not saying the nature of the techniques were not in any way intimate or could not have been perceived to have been that way by the complainant,” McCallum told the Sydney Morning Herald.
While we don’t know if Scorringe is guilty, we do know that there is nothing “accidental” or “inadvertent” about rape. Rape is rape. No grey area, no blurred line.
Detectives arrested Gene yesterday
But, when it comes to inappropriate touching, it is easy for patients to be confused about where the line falls – especially during treatments such as massage or osteopathy where touch is an essential part of the treatment.
Becky*, 31, says that she felt utterly violated after receiving a “dodgy” massage while on holiday in Laos.
“I went into the cubicle and the masseuse asked me to strip off completely save for my towel. He was breathing really heavily over me the whole time – it just felt really horrible.
“I definitely left there tenser than I’d gone in,” she recalls.
While there wasn’t anything concrete to complain about, the fact that Becky felt so uncomfortable is a sign that something wasn’t quite right. So why didn’t she stop the massage and leave?
Becky’s experience is not uncommon. In fact, many women have experienced confusing or tense moments during a treatment in which they’ve felt uncomfortable about the way they’ve been touched.
Often these instances are brushed to one side, we think we imagined it, or that it is a normal part of the treatment. Even so, when something doesn’t feel right, why is it easier to let it go than to speak up?
Psychologist Mandy Edkins says that women might find it hard to speak up in the moment because they are in a vulnerable position.
“We assume that the ‘professional’ knows best, he is the holder of knowledge and, often, whose help and expertise is required for physical or mental health treatment.
Edkins notes that this can create a huge power differential, whereby women feel unable to speak out for fear of anger, rejection or withheld assistance.
She also notes that if you’re not familiar with the assessment or treatment procedure you are likely to accept what happens at face value because you trust that the health care professional knows what they’re doing.
“You may not even realise that something was inappropriate until you share your experiences with others at a later date,” Edkins explains.
Edkins says that anyone who feels they’ve been touched inappropriately is likely to feel shocked, foolish, or violated.
Of course, it is not our responsibility to stop male health practitioners from acting wrongfully.
All healthcare specialists need to ensure that the line between professional and inappropriate is never crossed. There is no grey area.
Sadly, Scorringe’s 23-year-old patient may have discovered this the hard way.
*Name has been changed
