02/04/2026
Forced vaginal exam = battery and assault and negligence
There was a significant decision made in the Supreme Court of Victoria last week.
A woman had been forced to have a vaginal exam when presenting at hospital. The hospital midwife had withheld access to her continuity of care midwife, birth suite and pain relief until she complied.
The court found that consent cannot be obtained under coercion and found Bendigo Health liable for battery and assault and negligence. A likely precedent in this space. The health service was ordered to pay $275K + costs.
Far too often, strong-arm tactics are used to get women to comply to vaginal exams, including refusing admission to birth suite, to water immersion, or to pain relief. Many women, advocates, lawyers and staff have been saying for a long time that this is not okay; no does in fact mean no, and a yes under coercion /= consent. The court agrees.
Let's address the unfounded rhetoric we have already heard from factions of the maternity space
- women just need to be more educated in the antenatal space. [errrh, no. Yuck. Victim blamey. Just don't digitally pe*****te someone without cosent?!]
- drs need to be more involved in conversations in the antenatal period [errr, for what purpose? No means no, whether it is to a midwife or dr. Women don't need any additional pressure applied to them before they even get to hospital].
I think all staff and services should be on notice. If thousands of women's stories to multiple maternity inquiries across the country hasn't shifted the dial, perhaps it will be the litigation payouts that will.
Thank you to the brave woman that persued this. It was just as much about her own justice as it was for every other woman that has been subjected to forced procedures during maternity "care".
