The wife of Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang said Thursday that in 2012 she was sexually assaulted by a gynecologist in New York, accused of abusing more than two dozen other patients.
In an interview with CNN, Evelyn Yang said that, when she was seven months pregnant with her first child, Robert Hadden asked her inappropriate questions about her sexual activity and performed "unnecessary" exams.
"I was in the exam room, and I was dressed and ready to go," he said, "then, at the last minute, he invented an excuse. He said something about 'I think you might need a C-section,' and proceeded to approach him and undress and examine myself internally without gloves. "
" I just froze like a deer in the headlights of the cars, " he continued, "just frozen. I knew it was happening. I remember trying to fix my eyes on a place on the wall and just trying to avoid seeing his face while I was attacking, just waiting for it to end. "
In 2014, the doctor was charged in New York with charges derived from abuse of six patients, but Yang was not among them. Hadden signed a plea agreement in which he avoided the prison sentence and was ordered to renounce his medical license.
"It's like receiving a slap in the face and a punch in the intestine," Evelyn Yang said of the plea agreement. "The district attorney's office is meant to protect us, must serve justice, and here there was no justice ".
Hadden denied Yang's accusations, according to CNN.
Evelyn Yang said she did not reveal the abuse to her husband or her family because she did not want to disturb them. But when he discovered the accusations against the doctor in the press, he did tell his partner.
Andrew Yang's reaction
"This was a serial predator and he simply chose me as his prey," he told CNN, "I needed to share it at the time because it seemed so big and I needed that support. And I told him so and he [Andrew Yang] cried." .
For his part, Andrew Yang issued a statement to express that he was "extraordinarily proud" of his wife.
“My heart breaks every time I think about what I had to experience,” he said, “when victims of abuse arise, they deserve our credibility, support and protection. I hope that Evelyn's story strengthens those who have suffered and sends a clear message that our institutions must do more to protect and respond to women. "
Evelyn Yang, along with at least 30 women, filed a new civil lawsuit against Hadden and the hospital system where he worked and his affiliates, his lawyer Anthony DiPietro said Thursday.
"I don't think we even know the full extent of the people who have been affected," the lawyer told NBC.
When abuse occurs in medical centers
Sexual abuse by health professionals is not unusual.
An investigation by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2016 identified more than 2,400 cases of doctors across the country who had sexually assaulted their patients; half of them still had a license to practice medicine. A pediatrician assaulted up to 1,000 young patients before being sent to prison.
In 2018, in the biggest gymnastics scandal in the United States, the national team's doctor, Larry Nassar, was sentenced to 175 years in prison for abusing numerous minor athletes for decades. Hundreds of athletes accused him.
The national helpline for victims of sexual abuse of the RAINN organization operates 24 hours every day of the week and offers confidential and safe help and advice in Spanish and English for people who have suffered this type of trauma or their family members and also suggestions on how to prevent it.
"Sexual assault can have many modalities, but one factor is always the same: it is never the person's fault," says RAINN.
In particular, it is advised that the victim look for a reliable company that provides support, go to a specialized medical provider to offer evidence (the so-called rape kit) and plan security measures after the attack.
If you or a person you know has been a victim of sexual assault, call 1800-656-4673 or speak by chat with specialists at https://www.rainn.org/en.
(edited by Ivette Leyva)