One winter's morning 24 years ago, I had a meeting with an elderly man in a basement room near St Paul's Cathedral. He made me lie on a hard bed, hit my knees with a rubber hammer and peered into my mouth. He then shone a light into my ears, put a metal implement on my chest and pressed his fingers into my stomach. Had I been a man I would have suffered the further indignity of having to pull my pants down and cough so that he could cup his hand around my balls.
24年前一個冬天的早晨,我與一位上了年紀的男性在聖保羅大教堂(St Paul's Cathedral)附近的一間地下室裏會面。他讓我躺在一張硬牀上,用橡膠錘擊打我的膝蓋,檢視了我的口腔。然後,他把一束光照進我的耳朵裏,將一個金屬器具放在我的胸上,用手指按壓我的胃。如果我是男的,我還要承受進一步的無禮舉動:必須脫下褲子並咳嗽,以便他用手檢查我的睪丸。