By medical reporter Sophie Scott.
Sydney school teacher Breanna (not her real name) checked into a private hospital for routine gynaecological surgery late last year and a few days later, the surgeon rang with the good news that she did not have cancer.
But the doctor from Norwest Private Hospital in Sydney’s north-west had another bombshell.
She told Breanna one of the nurses had taken an explicit photo of her while she was under anaesthetic.
“I felt like my world was exploding. I felt I was in great peril that this photo was going to destroy my life, my career and that my son would find out,” she said.
But what has made her really angry is that there is little she can do to stop it happening to others.
In New South Wales, there is no law protecting patients from having similar photos taken.
“I am an information technology teacher. I know how bad it could get and that the photo could have ended up on the internet and being shared,” she told the ABC.
“The photo was explicit and left nothing to the imagination.”
Under section 91 L of the Crimes Act, it is an offence to photograph or film someone’s private parts for the purpose of obtaining, or enabling another person to obtain sexual arousal or sexual gratification.