It has come to our attention that there has been a recent New Zealand court case in which a health practitioner was convicted of indecent assault for actions which took place during his interaction with clients in his practice.
It is with great concern that we have learned that the defendant attempted to use his practice of qigong and that people may not understand what he is doing as part of his defence. The defendant in question was not, and has never been affiliated with our association, and we wish to make it clear that the practice of qigong is no justification for the behaviour described within the court case. As such we feel that it is important for our association to clearly affirm the importance of clear informed consent and appropriate professional boundaries in all interactions between health practitioners and clients, and that these principles apply to qigong practitioners just as much as they do to any other healthcare professional.
All members of our association agree to follow a professional code of ethics as part of the terms of their membership which includes specific provisions to:
“Act with integrity, maintain professionalism, and operate within the laws of New Zealand”
“Ensure any physical contact is appropriate and is carried out with the participant’s full consent”
“Not engage in any form of unwanted intimate or sexual contact with a client/participant, including the use of innuendo, or gestures”
Along with other important ethical standards for practitioners.
The full code of ethics can be found on the association website here: https://www.qigong.org.nz/about/
If anyone reading this would like further clarification, or has concerns you would like to raise, you are welcome to contact our association at nzqigongtcm@gmail.com