Resources for survivors
if you or someone close to you has experienced medical abuse it's probably a very scary and confusing time for you, but we hope these resources can help.
learn about what medical abuse is, when it's malpractice vs when its criminal, how filing a complaint with your medical board works, and what steps you can take next to help you heal from medical trauma.
how to help a survivor in your life.
be supportive
support their decisions and efforts to recover or efforts to seek justice.
a good support system is critical to recovery from any abuse including medical.
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ask what you can do
just ask how you can help. everyone's needs are different and the best way to know what they are is to ask them.
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help them seek legal help
help them find a malpractice lawyer that fits their needs or a criminal lawyer if they are pursuing criminal charges.
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be their advocate
accompanying survivors to medical appointments as their personal patient advocate is an invaluable way to show our support and reassure them
learn how to and how not to discuss things like cancer sceening
survivors of sexual violence and medical abuse alike face unique challenges when it comes to things like attending cancer screenings like smear tests.
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it's important to make sure the conversations you have with them about these screenings are compassionate, trauma-informed, sensitive, and kind.
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even if you don't know the person is a survivor it's a good rule of thumb to assume everyone is that way you won't accidentally hurt or belittle anybody. even if you have nothing but good intentions it's easy to say the wrong thing or accidentally pressure someone into a conversation they aren't ready to have.
always be mindful and kind and acknowledge barriers.
when it comes to invasive screenings like smear tests it's easy to accidentally belittle or dismiss a survivors experience which is why you should always strive to understand and acknowledge barriers, because if you are choosing to speak on the issue of smear tests and you aren't speaking about this and making an effort to be sensitive and trauma-informed you aren't doing it right and you may actually be hurting the very people you want to help without even realizing it.
if you "encourage" someone to attend a screening by belittling their experience or pushing them to "come out" as a survivor of sexual violence or medical abuse when they aren't ready you're actually discouraging them from attending at all or from speaking up about their needs.
this is an exceptionally bad issue when it comes to social media and unfortunately, most conversations currently happening online are harmful to survivors.
An important part of keeping your reproductive health conversations trauma-informed and sensitive is knowing when to start a conversation when it's best to just not.
conversations about things like cervical screening and reproductive health can not only be writhe with triggers and potentially upsetting discussions it's also a very personal issue involving very personal and private body parts.
knowing when to not ask about someone's genitals is common sense for many of us, but some medical professionals are creating some confusion about this issue. One doctor goes as far as asking her uber driver about her vagina and encouraging the driver to ask her other riders about their vaginal health. This is inappropriate to the point it can easily reach sexual harassment territory. a good rule of thumb is to keep reproductive health conversations with strangers in professional settings to a non-existant minimum for everyone's comfort.
unless of course you a medical professional in a medical setting with a patient.
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survivor support groups
medical abuse survivors subreddit
Peer support group
A community of medical abuse survivors and the people who care about them where you can find support from over 500 members.
At Your Cervix
peer support group
a peer support group for surviviors of sexual violence who want to attend screening but face barriers.
We deserve better subreddit.
peer support group
peer support group for people who have been harmd by a gynecolgical procdure or doctor.