Forbidden love: sexual exploitation in the forensic milieu

Strategies must be developed within forensic psychiatric nursing practice that deal with issues surrounding forbidden love before, during, and after they arise. Unfortunately, nurses are generally ill prepared to deal with the sexual dilemmas that can occur in clinical practice. Sexual dilemmas must be recognized as an occupational hazard and not a professional taboo. Open acknowledgement that the potential for abuse exists in all nurse-client relationships is the key to avoiding the pitfalls that lead to sexual impropriety.