Psychologist Ion Duvac, accused of sexual harassment of patients, resigned from the leadership of the College of Psychologists: “A necessary decision to protect the credibility of the institution”

Psychologist Ion Duvac, protagonist of a scandal related to the sexual harassment of some patients, has resigned from the governing boards of the Romanian College of Psychologists, PressOne informs.

His resignation was addressed to the president of the College of Psychologists, Edmond Cracsner, and was consulted by journalists from PressOne, who reported on how Duvac sexually harassed his patients.

“As I previously informed you, in the context of the accusations that appeared in the public space and the existence of an ongoing criminal investigation, I decided to submit my mandate from all management forums within the College of Psychologists in Romania.
I believe this decision is necessary to protect the stability and credibility of the institution at a time of intense public pressure,” Duvac wrote.

“Your natural way is crazy”

Ion Duvac was a member of the Commission of Deontology and Discipline of the College of Psychologists from Romania. According to a recording published by PressOne, Duvac sexually harassed some clients with explicit sexual proposals and asked for pictures of their private parts from the first session. Ion Duvac asked intimate questions about women's sex life, orgasms and sexual positions.

The session lasted two hours, and from the first minutes of interaction, Ion Duvac addresses his client with “you're a blessing in hell”, who must learn to have “quality” sex, so that she is no longer sad and even gets rid of depression, according to the quoted source.

Duvac gave the woman, in the 10th minute of the meeting, the diagnosis of borderline personality disorder and moved the discussion to her sex life, which she points to as the cause of her behavior.

“You have the structure of a borderline, as I say, borderline (n.ed. borderline personality disorder)”. (…) And you repress your sexuality. Your natural way is crazy. If you feel like it one day, you'll fuck three people by noon. If you let yourself. But you hold back,” Ion Duvac told the woman, according to the PressOne recording.

The psychologist pressed on the woman's sex life and asked her if she knows how to “have sex like the world”, asked her to describe her favorite sexual positions, as well as the longest “sex parties”. “What does quality sex mean to you? You may not be confident in your sexuality. Let's talk about this topic, if you want (…)”, continued the psychologist.

Position of the College of Psychologists

The specialized commissions of the Romanian College of Psychologists reported on Monday that “the profession of psychologist is based on fundamental principles such as respect for human dignity, protecting the vulnerability of the person, maintaining professional boundaries and prohibiting any form of abuse or exploitation”.

“Any deviation from these principles seriously contravenes the ethical values ​​and standards that govern psychological practice. At the same time, we reaffirm the importance of respecting the procedural framework and institutional mechanisms provided for by law. The analysis of such situations, the establishment of the facts and, if necessary, the disposition of disciplinary measures is carried out exclusively by the competent bodies, based on the official notifications and the analyzed evidence,” the College of Psychologists said.

The body's representatives announce that they are firmly committed to “any unethical, abusive or inappropriate behavior”.

Ex officio Police checks

Also on Monday, the Capital Police announced that it had started ex officio checks targeting psychologist Ion Duvac.

“The Capital's police officers notified themselves ex officio and immediately started checks regarding the aspects reported in a press material, with a view to establishing the factual situation and ordering the legal measures that are required, according to their powers”, announced the Capital's Police, quoted by News.ro.

The investigations are carried out by the police officers of the Sector 5 Criminal Investigation Service, in order to clarify all the circumstances in which the facts would have occurred.

“We appeal to all people who believe they have been victims of such behavior to contact the police, with a view to formulating a complaint. We assure the public opinion that every report is treated with maximum seriousness, impartiality and professionalism. The Capital Police reaffirms its firm commitment to protect the rights and safety of citizens, as well as to combat any form of abuse or harassment, in strict accordance with the legal provisions”, the Capital Police also transmitted.

The psychologist's reaction

In a public statement sent on Tuesday and signed together with his lawyer, Ion Duvac rejects the accusations and claims that the investigation would represent “a smear campaign”. He states that he would have expressed his intention to run for president of the College of Psychologists and suggests that the publication of the investigation would be related to this endeavour.

According to the Regulation on internal organization and functioning and the Methodology for holding elections in the College, the elected representatives in the management forums can exercise a maximum of two consecutive full mandates.

According to his CV, Ion Duvac has been a member of the Ethics and Discipline Commission since 2017 and is completing his second consecutive term this year. Under these conditions, he no longer has the right to run for a new mandate in the management of the College in this year's elections, according to the cited source.