Nobody should learn this conversation on the first patient who comes in after a rape. How it goes can decide whether she ever asks for help again. And nobody can practise it on real people: a person in crisis who has just found the courage to speak is not a training exercise. The simulator lets professionals practise beforehand, where a mistake hurts no one.
Why a simulator
The usual ways of training fall short here. In role-play with colleagues everyone knows the scene is staged, so the tension of a real conversation is missing. A written case study does not answer back. A training video can only be watched.
A simulator fills the gap between theory and the first real patient. The trainee has to find the words themselves, sees how the patient reacts, and can try again as often as they need. It does not replace experience with real people, and it does not replace a trainer who talks the conversation through afterwards.
How a conversation works
The trainee talks to an AI that plays a patient who has experienced sexual violence. They can type, or speak and hear the answers read aloud in a voice they choose. The first scenario is set in a doctor’s surgery: a woman comes in with physical symptoms. She has not come to report a crime, and she has never told a professional what happened to her.
The patient behaves the way real people often do. She avoids certain words, she does not answer intrusive questions, and she is afraid the doctor will call the police. How much she says depends on the trainee. When they listen, explain why they are asking and do not judge, she opens up step by step. When they rush her, play down what she says or suggest she is to blame, she withdraws. She may say that she feels judged, or try to end the visit.
The AI stays in its role for the whole conversation. It does not coach the trainee, and it does not describe violence in graphic detail. A conversation has a length limit, and the patient starts to bring the visit to a close on her own.
Where the scenarios come from
Scenarios and assessment criteria are based on guidelines from Feminoteka’s experts and on LIVES, the World Health Organization’s model of first-line support: listen, inquire about needs, validate, enhance safety, support. Feminoteka provides the expertise and decides what the patient says and what counts as a good conversation. We turn that into software.
After the conversation, the trainee answers questions that help them think it through. Trainers can read the transcript.
What is ready
- Conversation In writing or by voice, with a choice of voices, in Polish.
- First scenario A visit to the doctor. An English version of the scenario is prepared.
- Trainer panel Conversation transcripts, a view of the scenarios and the cost of each session.
- Feminoteka’s online school The simulator runs inside a course on the LearnWorlds platform. Trainees are signed in automatically, with no separate password.
What we are working on
The next step is written feedback after each conversation. It has three parts.
- Communication Five criteria, including empathy and active listening, not judging, and respect for the patient’s safety and her right to decide.
- Medical procedure A list of the steps the visit should cover, from explaining the patient’s rights to planning her safety and referring her to further help.
- Behaviour to avoid For example victim-blaming, or questions about the patient’s earlier sex life. Each remark comes with a quote from the conversation and a suggestion of what to say instead.
The AI prepares the feedback, but a trainer has the last word. The trainer reads it, corrects it and approves it. Only then does the trainee see it.
Two more scenarios are also in preparation: violence at work, and a visit to the doctor after a night out at a club.
Technology
The simulator uses the Claude model from Anthropic through AWS Bedrock, in European data centres. The backend is written in Python (FastAPI) and runs on AWS Lambda. The interface is built with Vue.
What comes next
First we finish the feedback and the two further scenarios. After that the simulator can extend to other professions that meet people after sexual violence.
Placeholder for a quote from Feminoteka Foundation about working on the simulator.
Full name role, Feminoteka Foundation
