Clear sexual boundaries

We have launched new guidance for patients on clear sexual boundaries with healthcare professionals. We have also issued a press release and a leaflet.

The guidance, which has been published jointly with NHS Emoloyers, sets out how patients can protect themselves against healthcare professionals who cross sexual boundaries.  In summary, our advice is that you should:

• Ask if you are unsure why something is being done to you
• Ask the healthcare professional why they need to do something or ask you something if it makes you feel uncomfortable or embarrassed
• Ask if you would like someone to be present with you during an examination (a chaperone)
• Ask for a private place to change if you feel uncomfortable
• Ask for help from the healthcare professional’s colleague or line manager if you feel that they have acted sexually towards you

This new guidance builds on the reports that we published for professionals, employers, and training bodies:

• Clear sexual boundaries between healthcare professionals and patients: responsibilities of healthcare professionals. This is a statement of the responsibilities of healthcare professionals, which the individual regulatory bodies have used as a basis for guidance to their registrants.
   
• Clear sexual boundaries between healthcare professionals and patients: guidance for fitness to practise panels. In this document we advise regulatory bodies’ fitness to practise panels on the special considerations that should apply when hearing a case involving sexual misconduct.
   
• Learning about sexual boundaries between healthcare professionals and patients: a report on education and training. These are our proposals on how training in the maintenance of clear sexual boundaries should be incorporated inot the training of healthcare professionals.
   
• Sexual boundary violations by health professionals – an overview of the published empirical literature. This is a literature review of existing evidence about sexual misconduct by healthcare professionals

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