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Open Letter to Health and Disability Commissioner © Peter Zohrab 2004

Dear sir,

I am writing to make a complaint about some issues connected with my
treatment at Hutt Hospital on 4-5 June 2004. The nature of my operation is
irrelevant for present purposes.

I am writing this as an Open Letter, because (as a Men's Rights activist and
Law student) I am very aware that men are not supposed to complain about the
things I am about to complain about, and the Legal System and society
generally do not treat them seriously if they make complaints directed
against women. There is therefore a political and Human Rights dimensions
to my complaint.

I arrived at Hutt Hospital at around 7:30 a.m. on 4 June, and parked my car
between the Day Procedures Unit and the manned, side-street entrance to the
hospital. I wish to make the following complaints about subsequent events:

1. As I walked towards the Day Procedures Unit/Emergency building, my path
   intersected that of a female nurse, who was walking from the Mental Health
   unit carpark area towards the Emergency unit. Before I noticed her
   presence, she coughed aggressively and loudly and otherwise ignored me;

2. In the Day Procedures Unit waiting-room, something happened which I will
   not mention at this stage, because its implications, as I see them, may not
   seem credible to someone who has not been on the receiving end of Feminist
   psychological warfare for a number of years, as I have. It might therefore
   be counter-productive for me to mention it;

3. In the Day Procedures Unit proper, my nurse was a white-haired,
   middle-aged female nurse, who asked me to take off my clothes, apart from my
   underpants, and put on the patient gown that was provided. She left, but
   did not completely close the curtains around the bed -- there was a gap of
   about one metre -- so I closed them myself. I started to undress, but,
   shortly afterwards, she came into my curtained-off area (for no obvious
   reason, unless it was to see me in a state of undress). I wish to complain
   strongly about this invasion of my privacy.

4. After my operation, when I was in the General Surgical Ward until midday
   on 5 June, I was given frequent blood-pressure and temperature checks. One
   of the nurses was a pretty Philippina, with whom I had a few friendly
   conversations. At one stage, she took my blood-pressure in such a way that
   my hand was up in her arm-pit, more or less -- i.e. very close to her right
   breast. Given her attractiveness and the friendly nature of our
   relationship, I could easily have taken this as an invitation to touch her
   breast -- or I could have just touched her breast, without thinking too much
   about whether she was inviting me or not. Given the way that women are
   allowed to rely on men taking the initiative and running the risk of
   misinterpreting the "signs", there is a strong possibility that, if I had
   touched her breast, I would have been deemed or found guilty of sexual
   harassment or indecent assault. In fact, being a middle-aged, married man, I
   was subjected to sexual harassment by her taking my blood-pressure in an
   unprofessional manner and placing me a situation that resembled
   entrapment -- whether or not that was her intention. I wish to complain
   very strongly about this incident.