SoMGen (FemGen) 237 - Winter Quarter 2015
Medical Impact of Sexual & Relationship Abuse Through the Life Course
Offered by the Stanford Women and Sex Differences in Medicine (WSDM) Center
and Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (FGSS)
Course Directors:
Marcia Stefanick, Ph.D., Professor of Medicine (Stanford Prevention Research Center) and,
Professor of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Director, Stanford WSDM Center
[stefanick@stanford.edu]
Lynn Westphal, M.D., Associate Professor of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Director, Fertility
Preservation Program [lynnw@stanford.edu]
Class Meets on Tuesdays at noon (to 1pm) Location: LKSC 120
1 unit, Credit/No Credit: see details at bottom of pg 2
Course Description:
This course provides an overview of the acute and chronic physical, psychological, and emotional
trauma from sexual abuse through the perspective of the survivor (“impacted party”) and the
perpetrator (or “responder”). The experience of sexual abuse varies for each individual with respect to
age, gender and sexual identity, ethnicity, and other demographic and societal factors. We will
present a medical perspective on sexual and relationship abuse within various populations, including
behavioral and prevention efforts that might be effective, e.g. bystander training.
Weekly topics:
Week 1 (Jan 6): INTRODUCTION. Lynn Westphal, M.D. & Marcia Stefanick, Ph.D. Dr, Westphal will
highlight medical issues that will be covered). Dr. Stefanick will provide definitions, e.g. what is sexual assault,
rape, violence against women, etc with global and national statistics regarding prevalence.
Blake Zwerling (2nd yr medical student) will describe a sexual abuse program at the Ravenswood Free Clinic
that she is leading (initially created by Margaux Gray & Elena Brandford, now 3rd year medical students.)
Week 2 (Jan 13): Long-term medical consequences of sexual abuse and assault and
IPV: Approaches to treatment. Ami Laws, M.D., Adjunct Associate Professor of Medicine, is
Stanford residency and fellowship-trained in internal medicine, diabetes, preventive cardiology and
geriatrics. She currently devotes her time exclusively to patient care in a Concierge Medical Practice.
Week 3 (Jan 20): Medical/Legal Aspects and Stanford’s Sexual Assault Task Force. Elizabeth
McGill, JD, Richard E. Lang Professor of Law and Dean of Stanford Law School, Chair of Stanford
University Sexual Assault Task Force, assembled by the Provost in June 2014. Dr. McGill will present
issues raised at Stanford and other U.S universities and actions taken and being considered.
Optional “Enrichment” Activity:
Video on the Sexual Assault Response Team (S.A.R.T.) Medical Exam to be viewed outside of class –
Warning: graphic content - best viewed before class with Dr. Stein. Details will be provided in first class.
Week 4 (Jan 27) Medical Impact of Sexual Assault of Women. Harise Stein, M.D., Adjunct Clinical
Assistant Professor, Stanford. Health effects of adult sexual assault; understanding the scope of what this
means for a person's life and health; emphasis on empowering activism, and also self-awareness.
SoMGen (FemGen) 237 - Winter Quarter 2015
Week 5 (Feb 3) Medical Impact of Sexual Assault of Children. John Stirling, M.D. Pediatrician,
Santa Clara Valley Medical Center. Critical issues surrounding child sexual abuse including the affect of
child sexual abuse on the health and development of the child into adulthood,
Week 6 (Feb 10) Sexual Assault in the LGBTQ Community. Inge Hansen, PysD, Program
Manager, Weiland (LGBTQ) Initiative, CAPS, Vaden Student Health Center, Stanford. The prevalence
of sexual assault and relationship abuse in LGBTQI and sexual minority populations. A discussion the effect of
sexual abuse on sexual identity and the mental, physical, and emotional consequences.
Week 7 (Feb 17) Perpetrators - Leigh Kimberg, M.D., Professor (UCSF). A look into the medical
care of sexual abuse from the perspective of the perpetrator. Analysis of the psychology of the
offender, existing therapies and their recidivism rates.
Week 8 (Feb 24) The Impact of Sexual Abuse in Adolescent Teens. Cynthia Kapphahn, M.D.,
MPH., Clinical Professor, Lucille Packard Hospital, Stanford and Jennifer Keller, PhD. Senior
Research Scholar, Department of Psychiatry. Stanford. Discussion of adolescent relationship abuse
in conjunction with sexual abuse in adolescents
Week 9 (March 3) Psychological Impact of Sexual and Relationship Abuse, Laraine Zappert,
PhD, Clinical Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford; Director, Stanford's Sexual
Harassment Policy Office Dr. Zappert will provide information on counseling of victims of abuse and the
former Crisis Intervention program at Stanford.
Week 10 (March 10) ,Sexual Assault in the Military & Veterans, Susan Frayne, M.D. Professor,
Medicine, Palo Alto Veterans Affairs Health Care System, and Rachel E Kimerling, PhD. Director,
VA’s National Military Sexual Trauma Support Team. Dr. Kimerling will provide the epidemiology of sexual
trauma in the military and among Veterans, and relationships between military sexual trauma and medical
conditions. Dr. Frayne will provide a primary care clinical perspective on the response to a positive screen.
I unit, Credit/NC.
To get credit, students must submit 9 (of 10) in-class worksheets (provided each class) which ask
students to write down 3-4 points (as bullets or short sentences) from the lecture that day’s they
found particularly interesting, and why this was of interest.
A student can make up 2 missed lectures by submitting a 1-2 pg summary of the lecture slides
within 2 weeks of the missed lecture (i.e. to get credit, students cannot miss more than 3 lectures ).