Citation

O'Connor M, Nittis M, Robertson A, Leggett J, Charoenrat P. J. Forensic Leg. Med. 2018; 61: 69-72.

Affiliation

University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.jflm.2018.11.002

PMID

30465993

Abstract

In Australia scant attention is given to teaching medical students how to identify and manage intimate partner violence (IPV) and sexual assault (SA). In Australia one woman dies weekly from IPV and the prevalence of IPV in Australian women is 29 percent. The Australian Prime Minister labelled it a 'national disgrace' and yet, of the five World Health Organisation (WHO) regions, the Western Pacific Region has the lowest rates in the world. Since 2015 reducing IPV has become a national strategy. In undergraduate medicine the obstetric and gynaecological curriculum is a logical and appropriate place for such education given the predominance of female victims. Western Sydney University (WSU) commenced this training as a 1 day practical multidisciplinary workshop on IPV and Management of Sexual Assault in 2017. Prior to that time the University provided less than 2 h of training in IPV or SA in a 5 year undergraduate degree course. The preliminary results suggest that medical students are predominantly positive towards developing skills in dealing with IPV and their enthusiasm and knowledge increases after the workshop.

Crown Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Language: en

Keywords

Domestic violence; Education; Interpersonal partner violence; Sexual assault