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30 more women sue University of Southern California over sex abuse scandal
Last Updated: 2018-08-17 10:29 | Xinhua
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Thirty more women patients filed a lawsuit Wednesday over alleged inappropriate behavior by Dr. George Tyndall, a former gynecologist at the University of Southern California (USC), bringing the number of women suing the university to more than 340.

COMMITMENT TO CHANGE

The new lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court by the law firm of John Manly alleges that the university received numerous complaints about Tyndall's sexually abusive behavior, dating back to at least 1989, but deliberately concealed his sexual abuse, City News Service, a local news outlet, reported.

"This latest filing includes clients who were violated in extreme ways by a doctor who did not even take the basic precaution of wearing gloves during his invasive procedures," Manly told the wire service.

The complaints include improper photographing of genitals, improper touching during pelvic exams, and making sexually suggestive comments.

"Time and time again complaints against Dr. Tyndall were ignored by student health center nurses and staff for nearly 30 years," Manly added.

The USC has established a hotline for complaints about Tyndall's sexual harassment and misconduct and said it would take measures for significant and sustainable change.

Wanda M. Austin was appointed interim USC president Tuesday, replacing C. L. Max Nikias, who agreed to step down amid the scandal.

Austin said in a statement Wednesday that in her address to new students at their convocation next day, she would underline that the USC senior leadership is fully committed to bringing about change.

CHINESE STUDENTS IN LAWSUIT

According to the Deng Law Center in Los Angeles, three former Chinese students have joined the lawsuits.

The Los Angeles Times reported that some colleagues of Tyndall feared the gynecologist was targeting the university's growing population of Chinese students in recent years. The Chinese students often had a limited knowledge of the English language and American medical norms.

The Chinese Consulate General in Los Angeles expressed serious concern over the scandal on May 16, requesting the university to take serious steps to investigate the issue and protect Chinese students from illegal acts.

One day later, the Chinese Students and Scholars Association, a major Chinese student organization at the USC, also issued a statement, calling on Chinese students to speak up against any violation of their rights.

In response, the USC Student Health organization promised to provide more medical resources in Chinese for international students from China.

The USC Student Health Center has only one Chinese-speaking mental health counselor at present, and none of the center's physicians or medical services staff speak Chinese. The center plans to hire a Chinese-speaking medical assistant by the start of fall classes, according to the USC commitment to change.

"It's a good opportunity for us to look at how we're taking care of the Chinese students," Dr. Sarah Van Orman, chief student health officer, told USC Annenberg Media.

The USC is a leading private research university located in Los Angeles. There are 45,500 students enrolled in the 2017-18 academic year, including around 5,400 from the Chinese mainland, accounting for about half of the USC's international enrollment.

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