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March 17, 2017Disappointing Federal Budget a blow to healthcare in NSW
May 9, 2017AMA (NSW) President, Prof Brad Frankum, says reducing the sentence of Dr John Kearsley sends a poor message about society’s opinion of violence against women.
“Dr John Kearsley is a man who drugged and indecently assaulted a younger female colleague.
“This happened at a meeting arranged as a mentoring opportunity.
“He abused his position of seniority, betrayed the trust of a registrar, and proved himself a woefully inadequate teacher.
“Teaching less experienced colleagues is one of the core jobs of being a doctor and his abuse of this role in committing his crime is appalling.
“His crime was committing acts of violence against a woman.
“The fact that his penalty has been reduced from a minimum jail term of two years and three months to nine months sends a poor message about how much society, apparently, cares about these sorts of crimes.
“Medicine has, rightfully, copped flak over being a profession that needs to make significant progress in its treatment of women.
“That said, Dr Kearsley’s original punishment was not a product of the medical profession and nor was the significant reduction of that jail sentence.
“This was the work of the justice system.
“The woman at the centre of this story has been failed by her chosen career and our legal system.
“This case shows that as much work as the medical profession has to do in changing its approach to women within its own ranks, society more broadly needs to do the same,” Prof Frankum said.
Media contact: Lachlan Jones 0419 402 955