Like most people, I hadn’t thought about medical sexual abuse until my own doctor assaulted me. When I reported the crimes against me to the Manhattan District Attorney in 2015, what unfolded changed the course of my life.

Since then, I’ve been telling my story so that other survivors know they’re not alone, and as part of my fight to change the totally inadequate response of the hospital system, investigators, and law enforcement.

The gynecologist who sexually assaulted me and over 350 other women (who’ve come forward to date) received a “slap-on-the-wrist” plea deal from the Manhattan district attorney’s office. Although he lost his medical license, he spent no time in jail or on probation. What’s more, his employer, Columbia University still accepts no responsibility for their role in enabling and protecting the abuses over a span of more than 20 years.

At the time, prosecutors assured me that my doctor’s plea deal was the best possible outcome, but it’s too similar to the way other high-profile cases have been handled by the office of Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance, which dropped sexual assault cases against well-connected men including Harvey Weinstein, former International Monetary Fund director Dominique Strauss-Kahn, and well-known lawyer Sanford Rubenstein.

My response has been to stand up against a corrupt system in whatever ways I can. I spearheaded a successful campaign in the New York City Council resulting in a law allowing patients to change birth certificates, removing the names of doctors whose licenses have been suspended or revoked by the New York State Office of Professional Medical Conduct. The bill passed in 2019, and I was able to erase my abuser’s name from the birth certificates of my beloved daughters. I was an active member of the coalition to pass the Adult Survivors Act. Signed into law by New York Governor Kathy Hochul on May 24, 2022, the legislation creates a special one year look back window to allow individuals who were 18 or older when they were sexually assaulted in New York State to file a lawsuit against the person who harmed them and/or the negligent institution. Several bills were introduced in the New York state legislature in response to my advocacy, with the goals of curbing doctor sex abuse and holding enablers accountable.

In 2019 I launched Reform the Sex Crimes Unit, a campaign demanding change within the Manhattan DA’s Sex Crimes Unit and Special Victims Bureau. I worked hard to ensure that candidates in the 2021 DA race to replace Vance were fully aware of the steps that need to be taken to improve how sexual assault cases are managed, from the perspective of survivors. After personally endorsing Alvin Bragg’s candidacy, I co-chaired his transition subcommittee on Gender-Based Violence. Our work led to the creation of a new stand-alone Special Victims Division.

I’ve also given testimony on physician sexual abuse in multiple settings, including to the New York State Senate and Assembly joint hearing on sexual harassment and gatherings of state medical boards and medical associations. Plus, I’ve served on the advisory committee for a Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis project to help state medical boards effectively protect patients from egregious physician behavior.

I’m lucky to have a family and support network that allow me to safely pursue this work. I write and speak frequently about medical sexual abuse and prosecutorial reform. As a patients’ rights advocate, I hear from women across the country nearly every day who’ve been sexually harassed or abused by their doctors. Many have never reported and don’t think they will be believed. I believe them and won’t stop fighting for exams free from sex abuse.

I don’t tell my story for pity. I do it because I want to make change by connecting with other survivors and fighting for strategic solutions.