A 23-year-old woman was left in tears after a hospital technician made a sexually suggestive comment to her as she prepared for a head CT scan at Rome’s Policlinico Umberto I on the evening of Thursday, August 21st.
The incident involved Marzia Sardo, a Sicilian acting student. She recounted the event in a tearful social media video that has since gone viral. “I don’t know how I’ll manage to make this video, but it’s necessary,” she said while crying, still wearing the exam’s electrodes on her chest.
She explained that the technician told her to remove her earrings and face mask due to their metal components. When she innocently asked if she should also remove her underwire bra, he initially said no because the scan was “only of the head.” However, the technician then looked at his all-male colleagues and exclaimed cheerfully, “of course, if you want to take it off, you’ll make us all happy.”
Following the widespread circulation of her testimony, the hospital’s management launched an internal investigation. In a statement, Policlinico Umberto I said it had “initiated an internal fact-finding process,” noting that such an inquiry was also necessary to protect its staff. It emphasized that “public health defense and respect for patients are our daily priorities, on which no exception is possible.” Witnesses are expected to be interviewed as early as Monday.
The viral video also triggered a backlash against Ms. Sardo on social media, with some users criticizing her reaction as exaggerated and “theatrical,” alluding to her acting studies, and dismissing the comment as “just a joke.”
The student responded to her critics in a follow-up post: “The fact that instead of the doctor and the system that normalizes these actions being judged, my reaction is being judged speaks volumes. I won’t even dignify those who say I’m overreacting because it was just a joke with a response—they are the healthy sons of a sick society. But those who recognize what happened and still judge my reaction… you should get help because you are sick too.”
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