"Just Say No"

In The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood makes endless references to real-life issues, creating scenes in Gilead that represent actual events from our world. One of these issues is the sexual harassment that occurs all too often in the medical world, especially between male doctors and female patients. In chapter 11, Offred went to the doctor for her monthly checkup and was sexually harassed by the doctor. After he’d performed the usual examinations, he got way too close to her, touched her inappropriately, and whispered things like “I could help you” (pg 60), “you want a baby, don’t you” (pg 61), and “it’d only take a minute, honey” (pg 61). When Offred didn’t immediately agree, he tried to convince her further by telling her that “lots of women do it,” adding to the pressure she faced in the moment. She didn’t know which was the safer option: saying yes or saying no.

Although the doctor from this scene may seem outrageous in the amount of risk he took just for a chance to have sex with Offred, it’s based entirely in reality. A report about a case against Robert Hadden, a former Obstetrician/Gynecologist who sexually abused patients for decades, reads, “He exploited the power differential inherent in the doctor-patient relationship.” This kind of dynamic is what makes sexual assault by doctors unique; the perpetrator is not only someone who the victim is supposed to trust, but also someone with power over the victim. In Offred’s case, saying yes to the doctor’s offer of impregnating her would be dangerous if they were caught, and she clearly felt uncomfortable with the idea of having sex with him regardless. If she said no, she worried he could fake her tests, make a false report against her, and she’d be done for anyway. Offred did what many victims of sexual assault are forced to do in order to get out of the situation: act polite and try to refuse as nicely as possible. In her case, it worked, but it doesn’t always turn out that way in real life.

As for the repercussions of their actions, plenty of doctors get away with such crimes for many years, like Robert Hadden, who sexually abused dozens of patients from 1987 to 2012 and is now serving 20 years in prison. However, some predators never get caught. It is likely that the doctor from The Handmaid’s Tale who harassed Offred did not face any punishment following the incident, and likely continued “offering his services” to more female patients. Due to the lack of power that women- nevermind handmaids- had in Gilead, the likelihood of Offred speaking out was next to none, and the chances she’d be heard were even slimmer. Plus, the sheet in the examination room that was meant to restrict doctors and patients from seeing each other’s faces would’ve made it very difficult for patients to even know who’d harassed them. Systems such as the sheet that blocked the doctor’s face and the lack of power that women held in Gilead can be compared to the ways that women are restricted in today’s world. These societal structures, plus genuine fear, are some of the reasons that women often don’t report the sexual harassment they’ve experienced, which allows predators to continue abusing more victims until they’re finally found out.

According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, 63% of sexual assaults are not reported to police. Lots of victims just shrug it off, thinking it’s not a big deal and they shouldn’t make a fuss. After Offred’s encounter with the doctor, she was scared, but had no intention of bringing attention to the case. “Why am I frightened? I’ve crossed no boundaries, I’ve given no trust, taken no risk, all is safe.” (pg 61) She seemed to be less scared of what could’ve happened in the examination room than she was of the consequences that would come with being caught having sex with the doctor. One cause of this could’ve been The Ceremony, where she had scheduled sex with the Commander in an unromantic, dutiful way in an effort to get pregnant. Maybe Offred was somewhat desensitized to having sex with unfamiliar men who she didn’t love, although she definitely wasn’t fond of it. Following the incident, her greatest worry was not her bodily autonomy, but rather what she’d have to do to avoid death. The great stakes in Gilead created an environment where a woman’s experience of sexual harassment seemed insignificant to her, making it a true dystopia.