Brieana Rose* could not have been more vulnerable. Unconscious on an operating table, having gynaecological surgery to see whether she had cancer.

She could never have known that one of the people charged with looking after her would instead take advantage of her, violating her trust by taking a photo of her genitalia and showing the photo to others.

The experience has not only taken a financial and emotional toll, but it has revealed a huge gap in medical and privacy law in NSW.

"I have lost about six month's pay and entitlements, I have legal and psychological costs," she says. "I've also lost my dignity."

She hopes an inquiry into major privacy breaches currently underway in NSW will change the way cases like hers are treated.

When her Norwest Private Hospital doctor called her to tell her what had happened, she knew immediately what she wanted.

"I have a lot to do with information technology, and I knew the ramifications if that image became available on social media, and as a teacher I was immediately concerned that I would be walking through the playground or walking into class and a student might present it and say 'is this really you?'."

Yet even more shocking was the discovery that Brieana had little legal recourse.

The nurse left the hospital and was hired by another, and currently has nothing on her publicly available record to indicate what she did. Brieana was also unable to legally force her to provide her phone for forensic analysis – because that would be a violation of the nurse's privacy – and the hospital had no control over their former employee.

Brieana's lawyer, Fiona McLay from Harris Freidman Lawyers, said she was shocked when she was unable to get a result for Brieana.

"The criminal law in NSW says that it's only a crime to take a photo of someone's genitals if you are doing it for the purpose of sexual gratification," she said. "That doesn't apply in Victoria or Queensland … where you can't take someone's photo without their consent if they could reasonably expect to be afforded privacy".

Brieana believes the nurse took the photo simply to make fun of her body, and police did not press charges.

Ms McLay said another complication was that the nurse took the image on a private phone, so it was not covered by laws governing medical records.

She has been working on the case pro bono, because Brieana wasn't trying to get compensation, she just wanted the law changed.

Brieana testified last week at the Remedies for the serious invasion of privacy in NSW inquiry, and will speak again in the coming weeks.

A Norwest Private Hospital spokeswoman said the hospital deeply regretted what happened.

"The rogue actions of the nurse were a one-off occurrence in the hospital," she said. "The nurse's colleagues, recognising the abhorrent behaviour, followed the hospital's policy and quickly escalated the incident to the hospital executive team."

She said the hospital had made a recommendation to the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency, the Nurses Board of Australia and the NSW Health Care Complaints Commission about the case.

"To the hospital's knowledge no disciplinary action has been taken by these agencies against the rogue nurse," she said.

Brieana has started a change.org petition to call for change to the laws.

*not her real name.