About the Course

Welcome to the e-learning course, "What Every Healthcare Professional Should Know About Sexual Violence."

As a healthcare professional, you play a crucial role in supporting survivors of sexual violence. This course will provide you with essential knowledge and practical skills to create a safe and compassionate space for disclosures in your clinical practice.

Designed as an introduction to this important topic, the training will help you navigate conversations with confidence and offer appropriate support. The course takes approximately 2–3 hours to complete and can be undertaken during study days.

Course curriculum

  • 1

    Introduction to Sexual Violence (Causes & Consequences)

    • Learning Objectives

    • Pre-course Assessment

    • Myth Busting

    • Myth Busting

    • Defining Sexual Violence

    • The Impact of Sexual Violence on Individual Health

    • The Impact of Sexual Violence on Community Health and Global Health

    • Who is Affected by Sexual Violence?

    • Introduction to the Role of the Healthcare Professional in Addressing Sexual Violence and Underpinning Principles

    • Root Causes of Gender-Based Violence

    • End of Chapter 1 Quiz
  • 2

    Recognising and Responding to Sexual Violence in Clinical Practice

    • Case Study 1 General Practice Consultation

    • Case Study 1 Unpacked

    • Case Study 2 Emergency Medicine Consultation

    • Case Study 2 Unpacked

    • Case Study 3

    • Case Study 3 Unpacked

    • Case Study 4

    • Case Study 4 Unpacked

    • End of Chapter 2 Quiz
  • 3

    Responding and Supporting

    • The signs of Sexual Violence

    • Trauma-Informed and Survivor-Centred Communication Skills

    • Survivor Centred Communication Skills

    • What Should Happen in the Emergency Department?

    • What to Expect for You and Your Patients When Reporting to the Police

    • Barriers to Reporting, Confidentiality and Exceptional Circumstances

    • Our Collective Role in Ending Sexual Violence

    • Feedback

    • End of Training Feedback

    • Supportive Resources and Further Reading

    • End of Session Quiz: Sexual Violence Training for Foundation Doctors

About the Instructors

Becky Kemp Arnold

(she/her)

Becky is a final year medical student at St. George’s University of London and a current healthcare leadership academy (HLA) scholar. Becky has written this training as her HLA scholar project. Becky served as President of St. George’s Student’s Union, in 2021-2022 and has extensive experience working within her university to prevent and address sexual violence in higher education. Becky has worked with national charities such as Rape Crisis to provide staff at St. George’s with training in responding to sexual violence disclosures, and link students with outreach services. Becky is the student lead of the peer tutor led consent and bystander training, which is delivered to all first year students at St. George’s university. Becky is passionate about healthcare inequalities and addressing these in medical education, as well as improving healthcare professional awareness of gender-based violence. Becky has interests in public health, inclusion health, general practice, emergency medicine and leadership.

Dasha Ibrahim

Dasha is a Specialised Foundation Doctor in Leadership based at Manchester Foundation Trust, currently working in the Emergency Department. She is the 2024–25 UK Foundation Programme National Fellow representing all foundation doctors across the four nations and leading a project on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Teaching in Foundation Teaching. Dasha is the lead for Women in Healthcare Leadership and is also a Cohort Director for the Healthcare Leadership Academy. With a strong focus on EDI, Dasha leads national work tackling sexism and sexual misconduct in medicine. She has successfully developed and delivered workshops on sexual violence for medical students at the University of Birmingham and is now establishing a similar teaching programme in Manchester. Her projects aim to improve safety, culture, and support for both staff and patients. Drawing on her clinical experience and leadership expertise, she is passionate about equipping healthcare professionals with the knowledge and confidence to respond effectively to issues of sexual violence in the workplace and clinical settings.

About the Organisation

Doctors for Survivors

https://doctorsforsurvivors.wordpress.com

Doctors for Survivors is a not-for-profit organisation founded in 2025 by Becky Kemp Arnold. It is a space to build a community of healthcare professionals dedicated to improving healthcare for survivors of gender-based violence through education, advocacy and empowerment.