Monash University Department of Forensic Medicine is proud to present their free three-unit professional development course - Recognising and Responding to Sexual Violence in Adults. Health practitioners in rural and remote areas can now access free online CPD accredited training in identifying and responding to patients who have experienced sexual violence.

The course will also equip health practitioners to recognise and respond appropriately to adult disclosures of sexual violence. This training program is funded by the Commonwealth Department of Social Services under the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022-2032. 

Three units have been developed to build practitioner confidence and skills to respond to and support patients who have experienced sexual assault. 

Unit 1 - Sexual Violence: Drivers and Impacts. An overview of the sociological drivers of sexual violence; impacts on the individual and the community; barriers to disclosure; the justice system and support services; vicarious trauma and unconscious bias. 

Unit 2 - Responding to Sexual Violence in Adults. Focus is on the patient consultation, trauma informed communication, history taking, medical care and examination and documentation, safety assessment and referrals for recovery. 

Unit 3 - Responding to Sexual Violence in At-Risk Patients. Focused on the needs of patients who are more vulnerable to sexual violence. This can include those with disability, older adults; LGBTQI+; Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples; young adults, sex workers and patients from cultural and linguistically diverse backgrounds.  

You can enrol in single or multiple units, and these can be accessed here 

Duration of online course is 6.5 hours over a six-week period. This includes:  

  • Pre-reading material 

  • 2 x one-hour interactive Zoom sessions with expert practitioners  

4 x 1-hour per week self-directed online learning modules.  

The Units are accredited or endorsed by the following medical colleges: Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM); Royal Australian College of General Practitioners College (RACGP); Australian College of Emergency Medicine (ACEM); Australian College of Nursing (ACN) and the Australian College of Midwives (ACM).  

Training is only eligible for Australian practising and AHPRA registered practitioners. 

You can register interest for 2023 courses at:  
Recognising and Responding to Sexual Violence in Adults - Public Health and Preventive Medicine 

If you have any questions about this training opportunity, please contact the Sexual Violence Response Team via svtraining@monash.edu