Leading UK doctor ‘groped me like an octopus in hotel bar’
A LEADING gynaecologist has been accused of groping a fellow doctor at an international medical conference.
Khalid Saeed Khan allegedly subjected Jen Gunter to an ‘octopus body crawl’ with his hands, touching one of her breasts.
She claims that she said ‘No’ but still had to yell and push him away more than once.
Professor Khan last night denied the allegation and said he would fight to clear his name.
The 52-year- old is being investigated by three institutions where he holds posts: Queen Mary University of London, St Bartholomew’s Hospital and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.
On her blog, Dr Gunter said her alleged ordeal began after dinner at the hotel bar when they started chatting and had ordered a drink.
The 51-year-old Canadian wrote: ‘Dr Khan’s arm went over my shoulder in that all too familiar manner and before I could process what was happening his hand was on my breast.’
She said she told the Pakistan-born professor to stop but he would not listen and she had to resort to yelling and physically pushing him away ‘more than once before he got the idea that my body was not his to fondle’.
She said she came forward following the accusations made against Hollywood figures such as Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey and sex scandals involving politicians.
Dr Gunter, who is based in San Francisco, believes there is a similar problem of sexual abuse in the medical profession. She said: ‘I know these stories circulated for years recent and issues after I realise hearing there of is also a whisper network for women in medicine.
‘The glass ceiling not only keeps women from advancing it also keeps the men at the top from hearing our stories and acting appropriately to stop abuse when it happens.’
Dr Gunter said the potential for abuse happens ‘whenever there is a power differential’ and that ‘usually women, but not always, are at risk’.
She added: ‘I know it takes someone to start a public con-
versation so here I am saying what happened to me.’ Dr Gunter said that since going public she had received supportive comments and had been contacted by another female doctor reporting a similar incident with another male plans The She colleague. to during alleged admitted contact the incident the International she police. had happened no Pelvic in Chicago, Pain Society in October conference 2014, where both Professor Khan and Dr Gunter were delegates.
Professor Khan, who lives in a £1.5million semi- detached house in East London with his wife, said last night: ‘I deny this allegation and I am keen to clear my name. I will be cooperating with any investigations.’ He has stepped aside from his job as editor-in-chief of his royal college’s international journal.
A spokesman for the royal college said: ‘ We have been made aware of this allegation and are looking into it as a matter of urgency.’
Spokesmen for Queen Mary, where Dr Khan holds his professorship, and Barts also said they were investigating.
The hospital said the doctor had not worked with its patients since August 2016.
Dr Gunter has been dubbed ‘Twitter’s resident gynaecologist’ and regularly appears in the media discussing new treatments. In January she made headlines for an attack on Gwyneth Paltrow’s lifestyle venture, which advocated using a jade egg to strengthen pelvic muscles. She described the idea as ‘garbage’.
‘His hand was on my breast’