Catherine White,

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, is a forensic physician and the clinical director of

St Mary's Sexual Assault Referral Centre ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy ...

in Manchester, England. She is a specialist in the treatment of

sexual assault Sexual assault is an act in which one intentionally sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their will. It is a form of sexual violence, which ...

and rape victims.

Career

White was inspired to improve the services available to

and rape victims after hearing a story of a woman who had been raped and unable to find a suitable female doctor to conduct an examination. She subsequently trained in this specialism, and became a forensic physician in 1995, specialising in examining people. White became the clinical director for St Mary's Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) in 2003, which was the first

sexual assault referral centre A rape crisis centre, also known as a sexual assault crisis centre or sexual assault referral centre (SARC), is a specialised centre to support victims of rape or other sexual assault, both in the immediate aftermath of the assault and in th ...

(SARC) to open in the UK in 1986. Her work at the centre involves treating both women and men, and providing psychological care in addition to forensic services. White serves on the academic committee of the

Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine Faculty may refer to: * Faculty (academic staff), the academic staff of a university (North American usage) * Faculty (division), a division within a university (usage outside of the United States) * Faculty (instrument), an instrument or warrant ...

, which she represents on national committees. She has previously held the position of vice president, forensic medicine, of the faculty, and is the current deputy chief examiner, sexual offences medicine. White is one of the examiners appointed by the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries to oversee the Diploma in the Forensic and Clinical Aspects of Sexual Assault (DipFCASA). In 2006, 2008 and 2010, UNICEF and the Child Exploitation Online Protection Centre (CEOP) sponsored White to provide training in Cambodia and Moldova. She has also worked with the UN to develop sexual assault services in

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

. In June 2013, the work of White and St Mary's SARC was featured in a BBC documentary, ''The Unspeakable Crime: Rape''. In 2016, BBC Radio 5 Live Breakfast presenter

Rachel Burden Rachel Mary Ann Cecilia Burden (born 22 January 1975 in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, Marlow, Buckinghamshire, England) is a newsreader, radio news reporter and presenter. She has presented the BBC Radio 5 Live weekday breakfast show since 2011. She is ...

nominated White as an inspirational woman for whom she would like to see a wikipedia page created as part of the BBC 100 Women campaign.

Awards and honours

White was appointed a member of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the New Year Honours list 2014 for her services to vulnerable people.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:White, Catherine British women medical doctors Officers of the Order of the British Empire Year of birth missing (living people) Living people