In January 2027, the Faculty of Health of Sorbonne University will launch the first University Diploma entitled: “Psychotrauma and Violence Against Women: Screening, Prevention, and Primary Care
This innovative and interdisciplinary program addresses a major public health issue: improving understanding of the impact of violence and psychotrauma on women’s health in order to provide more appropriate care. Violence against women is widespread, and its consequences—often long-lasting—affect mental, gynecological, obstetric, and sexual health. Pelvic examinations, pregnancy, or childbirth can sometimes reactivate previous trauma or, in themselves, constitute traumatic experiences. However, specific training for healthcare professionals on these issues remains insufficient. In this context, this new diploma offers an approach based on the principles of trauma-informed care in sexual and reproductive health. Its aim is to enable healthcare professionals to identify signs of psychotrauma, adapt their clinical practice, prevent retraumatization, and improve patients’ emotional safety.
The program will run from January to September 2027, in a hybrid format combining in-person and online teaching. It is structured around seven modules covering, among other topics, the mechanisms of psychotrauma, specialized care pathways, violence against women, trauma-informed care in gynecology, sexual health, obstetrics, perinatal care, general medicine, and the support of young children. The diploma is aimed at general practitioners, midwives, obstetrician-gynecologists, psychiatrists, psychologists, pediatricians, emergency physicians, forensic doctors, and more broadly, all healthcare professionals involved in women’s health.
Built on the involvement of a coordination committee and an interdisciplinary teaching team, this diploma is fully aligned with the values of the Faculty of Health of Sorbonne University: breaking down disciplinary barriers, interdisciplinarity, pedagogical innovation, and continuous improvement of care practices. It may also contribute to the development of new public health research on psychotrauma and trauma-informed care in gynecology and obstetrics.
Through this new program, Sorbonne University reaffirms its commitment to training professionals capable of considering patients’ life histories and developing more humane, safer, and better-adapted healthcare practices in response to contemporary challenges in women’s health.
For any administrative inquiries:
medecine-dfs-maieutique-scolarite@sorbonne-universite.fr
For any academic inquiries:
elisabeth.iraola@sorbonne-universite.fr