Florida College Sued Over Forced Vaginal Exams During Class

From WPTV:

The suit also describes weekly probes for students in the program, saying they, “endured these invasive probes without a modicum of privacy. Plaintiffs would disrobe in a restroom, drape themselves in towels, and traverse the sonography classroom in full view of instructors and other students.”

“A student would place a condom over the probe and then apply generous amounts of lubrication to the probe. In some cases, the student would have to sexually ‘stimulate’ plaintiffs in order to facilitate inserting the probe into plaintiffs’ vaginas,” the lawsuit alleges.

And then there’s Barbara Ball, the faculty member who allegedly made incredibly unprofessional and sexually harassing comments as she supervised the procedure:

“She allegedly approached one student … during a probing session and stated (she) was ‘sexy’ and should be an ‘escort girl’ (prostitute).” The suit says Ball’s behavior casts serious doubts upon her motivation for insisting upon the forced vaginal probing sessions.

The school has not commented on the lawsuit but has stated that peer examinations in medical diagnostics classes, including sonography, are commonplace in the United States. The school has promised to investigate.

The students are hoping that the practice will be banished in the classroom. Experts that a local news station spoke (in the video above) said the exams are usually done in seminars and not in a classroom environment.