The minimum of a bachelor's degree or equivalent from fields such as social work, social care, nursing, psychology or medicine, or from other health-oriented programmes, as well as the equivalent of English 6.

Explanation for the entry requirements
The requirement of prior learning aims to capture knowledge and skills acquired through studies and work/practical training with people in professional relationships, such as the patient/carer or client/practitioner relationship.

The course is included as an optional course offered periodically in the third or fourth semester of the Master’s Program in Sexology. The course is also offered as an independent course.

The course explores different aspects of violence, trauma, and sexuality stemming from scientific evidence. Relevant theories and concepts that link violence, trauma, and sexuality will be analysed and discussed. The various course topics will also be applied to clinical work and the professional role such as professional tools for working with traumatized individuals/populations as well as ethical challenges.

Upon completion of the course, the student should be able to

1. identify and discuss key questions and theoretical perspectives related to violence, trauma, and sexuality,
2. analyse connections between violence, trauma, and sexuality grounded in scientific evidence and theoretical perspectives, and
3. apply knowledge about violence, trauma, and sexuality to one’s professional role including strategies for working with traumatized individuals/groups and ethical challenges.

The course will consist of lectures, mandatory seminars and group discussions, a group project, and self-studies. Learning outcomes 1-3 will be achieved through the various learning activities previously described, as well as through processing the course content individually and in groups. The themes of the course will be presented and discussed during lectures and seminars. The seminars will consist of group discussions in smaller and larger groups. The individual writing assignment includes choosing a topic connected to the course and finding relevant scientific articles to incorporate in the written assignment.

Learning outcomes 1-3 are assessed individually through oral presentations of group projects where the groups consist of a mix of professionals with different trainings and backgrounds. The focus in the assessment is students’ ability to identify and discuss key questions and theoretical perspectives related to violence, trauma, and sexuality as well as analysing connections between these concepts. The learning outcomes will also be assessed by an individual writing assignment focused on assessing the students’ ability to describe, discuss, and analyse a chosen topic relevant for the course that also integrates scientific articles. Students should also show their ability to apply their chosen topic to their professional roles. More detailed criteria for these assignments will be provided in the study guide.

Any absence in mandatory parts shall, at the discretion of the examiner, be compensated by an individual written assignment unless an additional seminar can be provided during the time the course is offered.

The group project will be assessed as Pass (E) or Fail (U). The individual writing assignment will be assessed based on the grades: Excellent (A), Very Good (B), Good (C), Satisfactory (D), Pass (E) or Fail (U). A passing grade in the course requires that the student has completed all mandatory components in addition to at least a passing grade on the group project and the individual writing assignment. A higher grade (A or B) in the course depends on the evaluation of the individual writing assignment.

Right to re-examination
Students who fail the exam are given the opportunity to do two re-takes with the same course content and with the same requirements. The student also has the right to take the examination in the same course in the subsequent course according to the same rule. Examination and re-takes are carried out at the times specified in the course schedule.

Briere JN, Scott C, (2015) Principles of trauma therapy: A guide to symptoms, evaluation, and treatment (2nd Ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE. Chapters 1-2 (50 pages).

Buehler S, (2021) What Every Mental Health Professional Needs to Know About Sex: Vol. Third edition. Springer Publishing Company: New York, NY. (150 selected pages out of 361)

Campbell R, Dworkin E, Cabral G, (2009) An ecological model of the impact of sexual assault on women’s mental health. Trauma, Violence & Abuse, 10(3), 225–246. (21 pages)

Hall K S K, Binik Y M, (2020) Principles and Practice of Sex Therapy (6th ed.). New York: Guilford Publications. (150 selected pages out of 536)

Hensel JM, Ruiz C, Finney C, Dewa CS, (2015) Meta-analysis of risk factors for secondary traumatic stress in therapeutic work with trauma victims. Journal Of Traumatic Stress, 28(2), 83-91. (8 pages)

Jaconis M, Boyd SJ, Gray MJ, (2020) History of Sexual Violence and Associated Negative Consequences: The Mediating Role of Body Image Dissatisfaction. Journal of Loss and Trauma, 25(2), 107-123. (13 pages)

Levenson J, (2017) Trauma-Informed Social Work Practice. Social Work, 62(2), 105–113. (8 pages)

Pulverman C, Kilimnik C, Meston C, (2018) The Impact of Childhood Sexual Abuse on Women’s Sexual Health: A Comprehensive Review. International Society for Sexual Medicine, 6(2):188-200. (12 pages)

Rupert P A, Miller A O, Dorociak KE, (2015) Preventing burnout: What does the research tell us?. Professional Psychology: Research And Practice, 46(3), 168-174.(6 pages)

Savin-Williams R, (2018). Developmental Trajectories and Milestones of Sexual-Minority Youth. In S. Lamb & J. Gilbert (Eds.), The Cambridge Handbook of Sexual Development: Childhood and Adolescence (p. 156-179). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (23 pages)

Additional reading material (approximately 300 pages of reports and scientific articles) will be added to the course.

Malmö University provides students who participate in, or who have completed a course, with the opportunity to express their opinions and describe their experiences of the course by completing a course evaluation administered by the University. The University will compile and summarise the results of course evaluations. The University will also inform participants of the results and any decisions relating to measures taken in response to the course evaluations. The results will be made available to the students (HF 1:14).

If a course is no longer offered, or has undergone significant changes, the students must be offered two opportunities for re-examination based on the syllabus that ap-plied at the time of registration, for a period of one year after the changes have been implemented.

If a student has a Learning support decision, the examiner has the right to provide the student with an adapted test, or to allow the student to take the exam in a different format. The syllabus is a translation of a Swedish source text.