Link the Training to Your Institution’s Sexual Violence and Misconduct Policy

The Sexual Violence and Misconduct Policy Act (2016) requires all B.C. public post-secondary institutions to have a sexual violence and misconduct policy. Institutions are required to review their policies at least every three years and to include consultation with students as part of the review.

As you prepare your training materials, you will want to make sure that you have the most up-to-date version of your institution’s policy. Every institution has different definitions of sexual violence and misconduct and you will want to revise the training materials to reflect this and include links to the policy in all resources.

If your institution does not have a plain language summary of the policy, you may want to collaborate with on-campus organizations to develop one. Within a campus community, English literacy levels will vary enormously. As well, an accessible policy helps to support victims and survivors of sexual violence in having control and autonomy over their options related to making a disclosure, making a report, and accessing supports, accommodations, and other resources.

Link the Training to Your Institution’s Procedures and Protocols

As you prepare your training, you may want to learn more about your institution’s protocols and procedures related to sexual violence. These protocols and procedures will describe the roles and responsibilities of various departments, services, staff and faculty following a disclosure of sexual violence. It can be helpful to include some specific information about what happens following a disclosure in your training and/or to be able to respond to questions that learners might have.

You also may be designing and delivering your training for students, staff, faculty, and administrators who may be involved in responding to disclosures. You may want to ask about what kind of training they are interested in, e.g., online or in-person, length, “Level 1” or “Level 2.” You will also want to ensure that your training reaches individuals from different areas of the campus community.

Link the Training to On-Campus and Community Resources and Supports

Collaborating with groups and organizations on your campus and in the community can increase the accessibility and effectiveness of your training. Collaboration can lead to the development of new resources, opportunities for including the latest research and best practices on sexual violence prevention and response, and opportunities for co-hosting training and involving guest speakers (such as community support workers or Elders) and a greater diversity of facilitators. Some of the groups you might consider include:

• Faculty, staff, and students from all departments and areas of campus
• Campus-based sexual assault support centres
• Community-based sexual assault response programs and anti-violence programs and services
• Campus-based health and counselling services
• Campus security
• Victim services programs and law enforcement
• Hospital- and community-based health services
• Institutional representatives from senior administration
• Indigenous people and communities (see Indigenous Considerations in the next section)
• Community-based organizations such as multicultural organizations that serve diverse populations and provide support related to sexual violence

Building relationships with a variety of student groups can be one of the most important ways of enhancing your training. This can include international students, students with disabilities, LGBTQ2SIA+ students, Indigenous students, graduate students, fraternities and sororities, and students involved in sex work. They will be able to provide perspectives on the issues that are important or relevant to them and provide guidance on issues such as inclusive language, when and where to hold trainings to increase participation, and barriers to accessing supports and services.

You will want to update any existing lists of resources and supports related to sexual violence. It is good practice to include both on-campus and community-based organizations, 24/7 supports as well as supports specific to various communities (e.g., LGBTQ2SIA+ people, multicultural groups). For information about community based anti-violence organizations, VictimLink B.C. (1-800-563-0808) is a good starting place as they will be able to connect you with organizations in your community.

Developing and delivering training on sexual violence can be an opportunity to build upon existing work at your institution toward Indigenization, decolonization, and reconciliation.

Territory Acknowledgement

Acknowledging the traditional lands of the Indigenous people on which you live, work, and study is an important way to begin an event or meeting and can be included as part of classroom activities and taught to students. Meaningful territory acknowledgements allow you to develop a closer and deeper relationship with not only the land but the traditional stewards and peoples whose territory you reside, work, live, and prosper in.

Acknowledging the territory within the context of sexual violence training will open a person’s perspective to traditional ways of knowing and being, stepping out of an organizational structure and allowing you to delve into the person’s own perceptions, needs and abilities.

When we speak about sexual violence, we cannot do so without highlighting the direct connection to tactics used to colonize and assimilate the Indigenous Peoples of Turtle Island (North America). Sexual violence is intimately intertwined in Indigenous peoples ongoing traumas from colonization; from first contact in North America, to the horrific abuses perpetrated upon children in Residential Schools, the occupation of land and accessing of natural resources without consent, to the forced sterilization of Indigenous women, to the thousands of Indigenous women, girls and Two-Spirit people as victims of sexual or physical violence and death as highlighted by the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Commission of Canada.

Territory acknowledgements are designed as the very first step to reconciliation. What we do with the knowledge of whose traditional lands we are on is the next important step.

Some questions to consider as you acknowledge your territory:

• What do we do as good guests here?
•  And what can you do in your personal and professional roles to contribute to reconciliation?
• How do we honour the resistance and resilience of Indigenous peoples in this work?

Should your institution have an approved territory acknowledgement please use that to open the session(s); however, we invite you to consider how to make that institution statement more personal and specific to you, in that moment and in the work you are about to delve into with learners.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action explicitly state that each of us as members of Canadian society have a direct responsibility to contribute to reconciliation; how we discuss colonization in relation to sexual violence is a direct response to that responsibility.

The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) is an international instrument adopted by the United Nations on September 13, 2007, to enshrine (according to Article 43) the rights that “constitute the minimum standards for the survival, dignity and well-being of the indigenous peoples of the world.” UNDRIP was adopted into the B.C. provincial legislature on November 26, 2019. Centering the history of colonization as a background and framework to sexual violence and misconduct both from a historical as well as current ongoing struggle is in direct response to our legal and moral obligation as members of Canadian society.

Curriculum Development and Indigenous Ways of Knowing and Being

Indigenization is a process of naturalizing and valuing Indigenous knowledge systems (Antoine, et al., 2018; Little Bear, 2009). In the context of post-secondary institutions, this involves bringing Indigenous knowledge and approaches together with Western knowledge systems. This benefits not only Indigenous learners but all students, staff, faculty and campus community members involved or impacted by Indigenization.

As you adapt this training for your particular context, consider how and in what ways you might interweave Indigenous content and approaches. Examples of how you might include an understanding of Indigenous ways of knowing and being:

• Incorporate Indigenous pedagogical approaches such as holistic and relational perspectives, experiential learning, place-based learning, and intergenerational learning
• Involve Indigenous students, faculty and staff with reviewing, adapting, and evaluating resources
• Integrate knowledge from Indigenous communities local to your institution.

As you do this work, as an Indigenous or non-Indigenous person, you will want to continue to draw upon and build on existing relationships with Indigenous people, both within and outside of your institution. As a way of continuing to work in intentional and respectful ways, you may want to reflect on questions such as:

• How does this work benefit Indigenous communities and help them to meet their goals?
•  Will there be benefits for Indigenous students, faculty, and staff?
• Have the community or communities identified their own priorities or goals related to this work?
• How can this work support Indigenous efforts related to healing from past and ongoing colonial and sexual violence?

In 2018, there were nearly 500,000 international students in Canada at all levels of study which was an 17% increase from 2017 (Canadian Bureau for International Education, 2018). B.C. hosts the second largest international student population next to Ontario, followed by Quebec.

International students may be at significant increased risk of being targeted for sexual violence and may face unique barriers to reporting and accessing supports (see Section 2: International Students for more information about barriers). According to the B.C. International Student Survey, international students rely primarily on other international students from their home country and from other countries for their primary sources of support, especially for non-academic issues (Adamosky, 2015). Consequently, international students who are survivors of sexual assault will be more likely to disclose the sexual assault and gain support from other the international students. International students who experience or who are impacted by sexual violence are also significantly less likely to seek help from counselling services due to language barriers and cultural differences (Mori, 2000). To make matters more complex, cultural perspectives of violence and rape myths differ from one culture to another (Bonistall Postel, 2017). Thus, international students might have difficulty identifying sexual violence and responding to disclosures of sexual assault. Therefore, it is important for post-secondary institutions to play a role in equipping international students with basic understanding on how to best respond, support, and advocate for their peers in an appropriate and sensitive matter that does not further traumatize the survivor.

Post-secondary institutions should involve international students in the development and implementation of training on sexual violence. They are the experts and can identify the gaps and needs of their peer groups and as individuals. Facilitators can develop the training agenda based on their needs and be prepared with the relevant safety resources that include community organizations and groups, translated materials and supports.  Post-secondary institutions can build partnerships with organizations that are providing support to international students who can share the collateral they have, e.g., safety booklets, infographics and educational materials (see, for example, the International Student Safety Guide developed by MOSAIC).

The term social location is often used by facilitators working in the anti-violence sector (Baker et al, 2015; Ontario Association of Interval and Transition Houses, 2018; Simpson, 2009). The concept of social location comes from the field of sociology and describes the groups that people belong to because of their place or position in society. An individual’s social location is defined by a combination of factors such as gender, race, social class, age, ability, religion, sexual orientation, and geographic location. This makes social location unique to each individual – no two individuals will have the exact same social location.

Social location is important because it strongly influences our identity, or our sense of self, and how we see the world. When it comes to the topic of sexual violence, we all have different experiences, values, beliefs, attitudes, strengths, and vulnerabilities. It can be helpful to try to understand your social location in order to be able to facilitate across all these differences. Here are some questions to help with that process:

• What is your social location relative to your audience?
• Based on your social location, in what ways are you able to and unable to relate to the experiences in your audience?
•  In what ways, or through what aspects of your social location, do you experience privilege? (You can think of privilege as an advantage that you have because you belong to a certain group, e.g., being male or middle-class). In what ways could this impact your role as a facilitator?
•  In what ways, or through what aspects of your social location, do you experience oppression? (A simple way of understanding oppression is to see it as a lack of privilege or disadvantages from belonging to a certain group. Keep in mind that multiple factors affect our social location so we can experience both privilege and oppression simultaneously). In what ways could this impact your role as a facilitator?
• How do you think your social location affects your approach to education and the way your work with people?
• How do you think your social location affects your approach to the topic of sexual violence?

To facilitate across difference means to be grounded in an awareness of your own social location. As a facilitator, you will want to recognize the diversity of social locations of your audience and to value the knowledge and experience learners bring with them. At a practical level, this understanding can help you raise issues related to sexual violence in a way that will create a safer space for all learners. An awareness of your own social location allows you to engage in conversations about how social location influences experiences of sexual violence and provides a foundation for unpacking assumptions, championing new ideas, and promoting values central to creating safer campuses.

Individuals with a background in anti-violence work, human service work (i.e., social work, child and youth care), health services (i.e., nursing), or those that have experience and knowledge in issues related to social justice, criminology, and mental health are well suited to facilitating training on sexual violence. If resources are available, you will ideally want to have facilitators from a range of social locations deliver training related to sexual violence prevention and response. Having facilitators of diverse backgrounds is important in creating safe, inclusive, and welcoming learning environments for diverse learners.

For example, when delivering to student groups, a peer-to-peer facilitation model can help to increase credibility of the training as well as have other benefits such as empowerment of facilitators (Hines & Palm Reed, 2015; McMahon et al., 2013; McMahon et al., 2014; Turner & Shepard, 1999). Transgender, non-binary, Two-Spirit and other queer people benefit from learning about sex and sexual violence from facilitators who share their personal lived experiences and have developed an analysis of the negative impacts of systemic queerphobia on LGBTQ2SIA+ people.

With mixed audiences, whenever possible, co-facilitation teams should include people of differing social locations and experiences. For example, a transgender or non-binary facilitator could be paired with a cisgender/heterosexual facilitator. This is beneficial for two reasons: transgender, queer, and non-binary audiences may connect more and feel safer with a facilitator of similar lived experience and the other facilitator can carry the burden of diffusing problematic situations that may arise from (sometimes well-intentioned) queerphobic comments. In short, a pairing of non-queer and queer facilitators may create safe spaces for queer learners and facilitators (Rensburg & Smith, 2020). In general, a diversity of facilitators demonstrates that sexual violence is an issue relevant to people of all genders and social locations (Moynihan et al., 2012; Roy et al., 2013).

Accessibility

Accessibility typically refers to all the ways in which the training environment, delivery and participation options, and materials are designed to allow for people from a variety of backgrounds, abilities, and learning preferences to participate fully. Your institution will likely have policies, resources and supports related to accessibility that you can build on as you prepare to deliver training on sexual violence. Below is a list of strategies you may want to consider in order to make your training more accessible and inclusive.

Environment

• Are teaching and learning spaces physically accessible by those who use a wheelchair or other mobility aids? Are there chairs available that accommodate various body sizes?
• Are washrooms both physically accessible and designated as gender-neutral?
• If facilitating online, is the learning platform accessible to people using assistive technologies and a variety of devices?

Delivery and participation options

• During registration or sign-up, have you communicated what accessibility supports are available and asked whether learners have any accessibility requirements, e.g., “Is there something we can do to support your access and participation in this training?”
• Are a variety of learning methods being used? E.g., in an online workshop, methods such as asking questions, using breakout rooms, using the chatbox, reflective activities, polling or whiteboard features.
• If facilitating online, is captioning provided? Many web conferencing platforms have automatic captioning that can be turned on.
• When possible, is there support for child care or honoraria?

Materials

• If available, are learning materials provided in multiple formats and languages?
• Are you using plain language in your learning materials and delivery? (E.g., using a familiar term over the latest technological term, using several clear words or a familiar word instead of one complicated term such as “communication” instead of “discourse”)
• Do learning materials (e.g., images, statistics) include representation from learners of all backgrounds?
• Are learning materials available in digital formats that are accessible to people using assistive technologies? Do images have text descriptions? Often, these materials can be run through an accessibility checker (many word processing programs have these built in).

Creating Space

For sexual violence training to be successful, learners need to feel comfortable, safe, and respected. As you prepare to facilitate, you will want to consider factors such as when and where to hold the training, key messages on promotional materials, the use of group guidelines, ensuring diverse representation, using icebreakers, whether activities require self-disclosure, and ways of working with co-facilitators or guests. In this section, we discuss several strategies for helping to create a positive learning space.

Opening with intention

Facilitators have an enormous role to play in setting the “tone” for a session. As people enter the space (online or in-person), you can welcome them and help them get oriented. You can let them know if you’ve started or whether you’re waiting for a few more people and share “housekeeping information” such as where the bathrooms are, where they can put their things, or how to use online interactive features. If the training will include interactive or discussion-based activities, you may want to consider using an icebreaker activity to help people get to know each other ahead of time. As you begin your session, you can use opening questions that help create inclusivity such as correct pronouns, check-in questions, or information about accessibility needs and requests.

Community or group guidelines

Community or group guidelines are an activity that brings groups together to decide how they will interact and support each other. This process can take anywhere from a few minutes to 30 minutes. If you are facilitating a short training (e.g., a one-hour lunch time session) or a training in which learners may not be interacting extensively with each other, creating community guidelines may not make sense. Instead, you might ask learners to agree to a list of guidelines or a code of conduct when they register or sign-up for the training. Or, you might share a list of guidelines at the beginning of the training and ask learners if they feel comfortable with them and/or if they have something they would like to add or change.

For longer sessions (e.g., a three-hour workshop) or for training that involves multiple sessions over a period of time, community guidelines can be an important tool for supporting safer discussion about difficult topics. You can remind learners of the guidelines if the discussion is getting difficult or at the beginning of each session. Important group agreements relate to listening to and showing respect for others (e.g., not talking when others are speaking, not making rude comments, or not talking on the phone), confidentiality, and participation.

Content warnings

Content warnings (also called trigger warnings) are a statement made prior to sharing potentially difficult or challenging material. The intent of content warnings is to provide learners with the opportunity to prepare themselves emotionally for engaging with the topic or to make a choice to not participate.

Different departments and institutions will have different approaches to content warnings and this may guide your decision about including content warnings on registration or sign-up forms, in learning materials, and in the learning environment. Below is an example of a content warning:

“We will be discussing topics related to sexual violence in this training. During the training, you can choose not to participate in certain activities or discussion and can leave the room at any time. If you feel upset or overwhelmed, please know that there are resources to support you.”

There are a number of other facilitation strategies you may want to consider in addition to or instead of a content warning:

• When discussing difficult content, check in with learners from time to time. Ask them how they are doing, whether they need a break, etc. Let them know that you are aware that the content is difficult.
• Ask people to be mindful of their fellow learners during the discussion and remind them that survivors of sexual violence are present in the room (regardless of whether this information has been shared with others).
• If you are meeting regularly with a group of learners over time, you can give them advance notice (e.g., two weeks) about potentially difficult content.
• You can “scaffold” your learning process/materials so that you do not start with the most difficult content at the beginning of your training or you can make connections to other resources and training on sexual violence. In some learning contexts, you may be able to let students move through content at their own pace.
• Consider how graphic or “strong” your language is. Sometimes, we may use strong language to make a point or emphasize the seriousness of an issue. Ask yourself whether this is necessary and what alternatives might be equally effective at communicating your message while reducing the probability of activating someone’s trauma.

Gender & LGBTQ2SIA+ Inclusive Language

Inclusive language is important and helps avoid making assumptions about others. As a facilitator, you will want to use language that is inclusive of all people regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity, sex assigned at birth, and marital or romantic status.

Because your audience is likely to be diverse, it’s important to be respectful of the many ways they experience gender, attraction, and relationships. Choose examples, scenarios, statistics, and images that are non-gendered or inclusive of LGBTQ2SIA+ people and relationships. Sexual violence is not exclusive; it can happen to and be perpetuated by people of diverse genders, sexes, and attractions.

If you are speaking in general terms, take care to choose terms like “intimate partner or partners” instead of “husband,” “wife,” “boyfriend” or “girlfriend.” If you are referring to a specific person’s intimate partner, use the same language they use. If a person refers to their intimate partner as their “spouse” or “wife,” you should use the word they do instead of referring to their “partner.”

Likewise, addressing learners using inclusive language will ensure a sense of safety for learners. For example, “Good afternoon, everyone,” “Hello, folks,” and “Have a good break, human beings” are inclusive of transgender, non-binary, Two Spirit, and gender diverse people while “Welcome, ladies and gentlemen” is exclusive.  Similarly, avoid everyday gendered language (e.g. man hours, spokesman, and waitress should be replaced with work hours, spokesperson/speaker, and server) or historically oppressive turns of phrases such as “rule of thumb.” Try using language such as “someone of another gender” and “people of all genders” rather than “the opposite sex” or “both genders.”

Be careful to address or refer to people with similar titles in similar ways, regardless of their gender identity. If you refer to a cisgender male professor as “Dr. Last Name,” as a default, refer to all professors as “Dr. Last Name.”

Don’t assume pronouns, sexual orientation (attraction) or gender identity based on someone’s name or appearance. Invite all learners, guests, and co-facilitators to indicate their pronouns and their preferred name on their nametag or in their online display names, if they feel safe doing so. Explain that sharing our pronouns is a way to act in solidarity with some people who are gender diverse, transgender, non-binary, and Two Spirit people, but that, ultimately, it is a way to be inclusive of all people.

Examples of gender inclusive language:

Trauma Awareness

Experiences of trauma and violence are common in our society. Many people participating in sexual violence training will have experiences of past or current trauma and many facilitators will have experiences of trauma themselves. There are a number of strategies you can use to help create a “trauma aware” learning space.

• At the beginning of the training, acknowledge that the topics you will be discussing are difficult and let learners know that they have the right and freedom to take care of themselves in a way that works for them. In particular, let learners know that they can leave the room or choose not to participate in an activity. You could say something like “If at any time you feel you need to leave, that’s fine with me. You are empowered to take care of yourself.” You can also let learners know that reactions to difficult material can sometimes be delayed and that they may wish to connect with you a few days after the training or to access support from family, friends, or other people in their lives.
•  If you do notice that someone has left the group and you suspect that they were reminded of previous trauma by the session, follow-up with them one-one-one after the session to check-in and offer them any resources that you think might be helpful to them.
•  During the training, if the conversation becomes “intense” or you believe that a number of learners have become overwhelmed or affected by the discussion, it can be helpful to take a break or use an activity that involves the body or movement to help people re-connect to the present moment.
• Sometimes, during training on sexual violence, learners may realize that they have experienced things that are defined as violence. BEFORE you start facilitating in this area, you will want to ensure that you are knowledgeable about receiving disclosures and how to support trauma survivors as well as available supports and resources on campus and in the community. Some institutions have developed practices such as expedited counselling for learners who might need support after a training session or making intensive crisis supports available for a short-time after a training or particular initiative.
• Similarly, some learners may realize that they have done things to others that would be identified as violent. You may need to provide them with some initial support before referring them to available resources and services.
• Let learners know that you will be available after the training if they would like to debrief or share their responses to the session or how they are feeling. If possible, schedule at least 30 minutes after a session so that you can be available to your learners. If you are delivering training in an online context, you can let learners know that they can private message/email you.
• If you feel comfortable, you can share information about grounding activities or a link to a resource. Grounding activities are simple activities that can help people to relax, stay present, and re-connect to the “here and now” following a trauma response. Examples include pressing or “rooting” your feet into the ground, breathing slowly in and out for a count of 2, repeating a statement such as “I am safe now. I can relax,” or using your five senses to describe the environment in detail.
• If you are concerned about a learner, ask them if they would find it helpful for you to “check in” with them later in the day or the following day. You could also ask them if they have a friend or family member that they might find it helpful for them to speak with following the training. If so, help them make a plan to connect with them, e.g., via phone or text or in-person or at a certain time.

A note on language

People who have experienced trauma may describe themselves as a “victim” or “survivor” or “victim/survivor” of trauma. These words have their own history and meanings. Language is imperfect and constantly evolving and there is no one best or “correct” word. Do your best to use the term that people prefer whether that be “victim” or “survivor” or something else entirely and don’t be afraid to respectfully ask if you are unsure.

International Students

As a facilitator, you will want to ensure that you are knowledgeable and prepared to address the distinct and specific needs of multicultural and diverse communities. International students are one group that you may want to consider. They may be at significant increased risk of being targeted for sexual violence, due to multiple barriers they face including lower levels of English language fluency, a lack of understanding of criminal law in Canada, cultural views of sexual violence, discrimination, racism, a need to adjust to local culture and limited local support systems (Forbes-Mewett and McCulloch, 2016). Furthermore, they may not understand the legal definitions of sexual violence and what consent means, and where to find help.

It is important to highlight that international students are not weak or vulnerable; rather they are quite resilient and determined to thrive and make Canada their home. It takes positive determination to leave the safety of family, financial stability and social network. However, once here, they may face the additional challenges from within their own ethno-specific community while also experiencing homesickness, loneliness and helplessness as part of their acculturation into Canadian society.

As a facilitator, there are a number of strategies you can take to ensure the inclusion and participation of international students:

• Consider language barriers. Using plain language or translated materials and slow down the pace as you go through complex material.
• Learn about translated sexual violence resources and community supports that include services in diverse languages.
• Provide opportunities for participation while also considering safety. Be aware that some female international students may not be comfortable speaking about topics related to sexual violence if other male students are present.
• Be aware of community resources and supports available to international students so that you can share them with learners either verbally or in written form (or both).
• Consider collaborating with community organizations such as MOSAIC so that a support worker can be available to international students, if needed.

Intersectionality

Intersectionality is a concept that promotes an understanding of people as shaped by the interactions of different social locations or categories ― for example, race, ethnicity, Indigeneity, gender, class, sexuality, geography, age, ability, migration status, and religion.

In the context of sexual violence, intersectionality can help increase understanding of how certain populations face increased risks of perpetrating sexual violence and others face increased risks of being targeted by sexual violence. It also highlights how different groups of people experience systemic barriers to disclosing and accessing support services. It can also help ensure that responses to sexual violence are attentive to and reflective of the diversity of campus communities.

Examples of facilitation strategies related to the concept of intersectionality

1. As you facilitate discussion, you can highlight key ideas related to sexual violence and intersectionality. For example, you could say:
   • “Violence does not happen in a vacuum and it isn’t merely a result of individual circumstances or bad luck.”
   • “People’s circumstances, such as their income, housing situation, and access to health care, can affect their ability to access resources to heal from their experiences.”
   • “When we take a look at ‘big picture’ issues like discrimination, economic conditions, and social policies, we can better understand why certain individuals might be reluctant to report that they have been assaulted.”
   • “Even though LGBTQ2SIA+ people experience high rates of violence, when compared to the general population, they are often fearful of accessing the justice system due to a history of negative interactions with police and daily experiences of discrimination and harassment.”
   • “Many international students are resilient and determined to thrive and make Canada their home. However, they might face unique barriers when it comes to sexual violence such as language barriers, lack of knowledge about services and supports, or work exploitation.”
2. In your training, include statistics, images, and other resources that reflect the perspectives, needs, experiences, and interests of diverse groups. For example, images of a mixed race queer couple with a visible disability gives recognition that race, sexual orientation, and ability can be places of diversity within one relationship. Or, include statistics on sexual violence and resilience within queer and polyamorous couples as well as straight, monogamous couples.
3. If you are using statistics about a particular group of people, use precise language to avoid confusion. For example, “Men are likely to be the perpetrators of sexual violence against women” is less accurate than “Cisgender men are likely to be the perpetrators of sexual violence against all other genders, especially against cisgender women.” Your use of precise language will vary based on the information you will be sharing,
4. Depending on your audience, you can include a resource or section about intersectionality in your training. This could be a more academic resource such as an interview with legal scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw (while many people have used intersectional perspectives in their work, her use of the term in 1989 has greatly influenced current understandings) or an experiential resource such as an interview or spoken word video by a survivor of sexual violence that highlights multiple social locations.
5. If you have more time, you can include a reflective activity such as the Power Flower (below).

Sex, Gender, and Gender Identity

Because of the power inherent in sex and gender dynamics and the role they play in our lives, addressing sex, gender, and gender identity in discussions about sexual violence is essential. Gender can be a complex topic to discuss as there are many elements to consider such as identity, expression, orientation, and sex. Western understandings of sex, gender and gender identity have evolved from a binary view (two options: male and female) to a spectrum which suggests there are multiple sexes (male, female, intersex), many gender identities, and a wide range of gender expressions that may or may not conform to societal expectations. Many cultures have respect and recognition for more than two sexes, genders or gender identities. This is true not only abroad, but among many nations Indigenous to Turtle Island (North America).

As a facilitator, you will want to be familiar with key terms used to discuss gender. These terms are continuing to evolve and it is important to refer to people using their own terms.

Examples of facilitation strategies related to the concepts of sex, gender, and gender identity

1. When talking about diverse experiences of sexual violence, take care to be both inclusive of LGBTQ2SIA+ people while being precise when talking specifically about sexual violence committed by cisgender men against cisgender women.
   Key discussion points can include:
   • The overwhelming majority of acts of sexual violence are committed by cisgender men against cisgender women and girls and people of other genders. Transgender, Two-Spirit, and non-binary people as well as lesbian, gay, and other queer people are disproportionately targeted by perpetrators of sexual violence.
   • It’s important to remember that straight, cisgender men and boys can also be targeted and that people of all genders and sexual orientations may be perpetrators of sexual violence.
   • We need to be mindful of the experiences of all victims of sexual violence while not minimizing the deep-rooted experiences of violence that cisgender women, girls, and gender diverse people are subjected to by cisgender men.
   • Gendered sexual violence exists and thrives in the context of colonialism which privileges straight, white, able-bodied men while unjustly mistreating LGBTQ2SIA+, BIPOC, and disabled people. Because of these intersecting oppressions, people of colour, women, children, and queer people are especially at risk of being targeted by sexual violence.
2. Help people learn more about gender by including an activity in your training that explores concepts such as gender identity, attraction (sexual orientation), and gender expression (presentation).

   Activity: Gender Unicorn

   The Gender Unicorn is a visual activity by Trans Student Educational Resources that allows learners to map out of their own experiences of sex and gender. It is available in an interactive form, as a colouring book, and in different languages. (It uses a Creative Commons license and can be shared as long as credit is given.)

   

3. When facilitating, pay attention to the pronouns that you use as they are an important part of language related to gender. In addition to the binary English terms “she/her/her” and “he/his/him,” some people use gender-neutral pronouns such as “they/them” (in singular form). Use the pronouns that correspond to a person’s gender identity. As it is not possible to assume pronouns based on appearances, it is a good practice to ask for a person’s pronouns. For some people, being referred to intentionally and repeatedly with inappropriate or incorrect pronouns (or being “misgendered”) can be hurtful, offensive, and violent.

Roots of Violence

There are many different theories and perspectives about what the causes of sexual violence in our society are. Discussions about ideas such as social constructions of gender roles, colonialism, enslavement, and patriarchy can help us to explore and understand the root causes of sexual violence and to collectively find answers and solutions.

The term “rape culture” was first coined in the 1970s in the United States by second-wave feminists and the concept is often used in sexual violence prevention training in post-secondary institutions. Rape culture describes how sexual violence is common in our society and how it is normalized, condoned, excused, or encouraged. Examples of rape culture include the public tolerance of sexual harassment, the prevalence of sexual violence in media, the socialization of boys that promotes masculine identities based on notions of power and control, persistent discrimination against women and other equity-seeking communities, and the scrutiny given to the sexual histories of victims of sexual violence (Baker, 2014; EVA-BC, 2016).

Many aspects of rape culture are often conceptualized as a continuum or pyramid or can be connected to other forms of violence in society.

Examples of facilitation strategies related to the concept of roots of violence

1. Ask learners about their perceptions of campus safety: Do they feel safe all the time? Some of the time? What affects their sense of safety? What kind of role do we as campus community members have in preventing sexual violence and/or helping to promote norms of respect, safety, equity, and helping others? (As safety can be a deeply personal subject, you may want to facilitate this discussion in a structured way such as using specific examples or asking questions that require limited self-disclosure).
2. You can connect your training to current events and media coverage, e.g., a news story about a high-profile sexual assault case that is in court, the latest opinions about the activities of a famous or infamous celebrity. To what extent are individuals held responsible for their actions and to what extent is society?
3. You can include a section in your training on critical media analysis, e.g., reviewing advertisements and exploring what messages they communicate about dating, relationships, and sex. Do these advertisements reflect or challenge current attitudes and stereotypes about sexual violence?

Colonial Violence

Colonialism occurs when a group of people take control of other lands, regions, or territories outside of their own by turning those other lands, regions, or territories into a colony.

Colonialism remains embedded in the legal, political and economic context of Canada today.

Sexual violence and colonialism are interconnected through concepts such as self-determination, autonomy and consent. As well, many social norms in Canada are founded on colonial beliefs which are rooted in white patriarchal supremacy and which have created systems that support individuals, predominantly white men, to positions of power. These norms provide an illusion that people are entitled to what others have, including lands, cultures, and people’s bodies and that force is an acceptable way to claim these things, regardless of the harm to others (National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, 2019; Turpel-Lafond, 2020; Women’s Earth Alliance and Native Youth Sexual Health Network, 2016). An understanding of past and ongoing colonial violence can help provide context to issues such as why many Indigenous people and communities experience high rates of sexual violence today and the potential systemic or historical barriers to Indigenous People reporting sexual violence when it occurs.

Examples of facilitation strategies related to the concept of colonial violence

1. During your training, you can discuss how your institution and/or campus unit/department is demonstrating accountability to Indigenous communities and peoples whose land you are on. It is especially important to highlight that reconciliation is a journey and not a destination. This helps to be able to speak frankly about the limitations or meaningfulness of specific initiatives and policies at your institution and to respectfully acknowledge the difficulty in repairing hundreds of years of harm.
2. During discussions, you can make connections between colonization (non-consensual theft of land and violence/devaluing of Indigenous People, women, Two-Spirited people and members of the LGBTQ2SIA+ community) and sexual violence (non-consensual sexual touch and/or behavior, devaluing of people’s autonomy). In particular, you can make a connection between land and consent – Canada as a nation is built upon a fundamental lack of consent of Indigenous peoples
3. Many people from diverse parts of the world have their own experiences of colonial violence and oppression. It can be helpful to acknowledge this as it helps people to build connections between their own experiences and those of Indigenous People. You will also want to keep in mind that individuals from these groups may be reminded of their own experiences when hearing about the injustices faced by Indigenous People and may benefit from learning about additional resources and supports.
4. When discussing the impact of sexual violence as a tool of colonization and genocide against Indigenous communities, you can also highlight the resiliency and capacity of Indigenous peoples and communities to resist and overcome violence.

Activity: Colonial Violence Wheel

This Colonial Violence Wheel is a visual tool that can be used to help further discussion on the connections between colonial violence and sexual violence. Each section of the wheel provides examples of strategies, policies, and laws that have been enacted by the Canadian government to colonize and assimilate Indigenous people. Discussion questions can include:

1. What do you already know about colonialism in Canada? What aspects of these strategies, policies and laws do you see in your life?
2. How do the strategies, policies, and laws described in the Wheel connect to sexism, racism, and other forms of discrimination?
3. How does colonial violence connect to sexual violence? For example, what is the connection between self-determination at an individual level (control of one’s own body) and at a community level (First Nations self-governance)?

Download the Colonial Violence Wheel Activity here: Handout Colonial Violence Wheel Activity [Word file].

Healthy and Toxic Masculinity

“Healthy masculinity” and “toxic masculinity” are popular terms often used to explore beliefs, values, and stereotypes related to male identity and masculine norms in society. Masculine identity and norms are strongly linked with violence, with men and boys disproportionately likely both to perpetrate violent crimes and to die by homicide and suicide (Heilman and Barker, 2018).

Training on sexual violence on campuses will often explore ideas related to masculinity as a way of helping to shifting societal ideas about masculinity and to centre new values related to inclusivity and diversity. These conversations can help highlight how sexual violence harms people of all genders, including boys, men, and masculine people. It also can be an entry point for cisgender men to take a role in addressing sexual violence in their community.

Examples of facilitation strategies related to healthy and toxic masculinity

1. When discussing toxic masculinity is important to be clear that this term does not mean that men are bad or evil. It does not mean that men are naturally violent or that only men are violent.
2. The topic of healthy and toxic masculinity can often fit well in discussions of why sexual violence happens in society. Questions to explore can include:
   1. What ideas do we as a society have about what it means to “be a man”?
   2. Who or what defines masculinity in our society?
   3. How does this affect boys, men, and masculine people?
   4. How might these ideas be related to sexual violence against all genders in our society?
   5. Can you be masculine without being aggressive or violent?
   6. How might the experience of masculinity differ for a non-binary person, a trans-masculine person or a masculine woman versus a man who was assigned male at birth?
3. Support boys, men, and masculine people in re-defining what healthy masculinity looks like for them. Suggest that there is more than one way to be a man (or any other gender identity). Connect healthy masculinity to topics such as asking consent, respecting boundaries, and being accountable.

Image descriptions

Gender Unicorn image description.

A purple cartoon unicorn stands beside different ways to describe gender, sex, and attraction. They are as follows:

• Gender identity (a spectrum):
  • Female/woman/girl
  • Male/man/boy
  • Other gender(s)
• Gender expression (a spectrum)
  • Feminine
  • Masculine
  • Other
• Sex assigned at birth
  • Female
  • Male
  • Intersex
• Physically attracted to (a spectrum)
  • Women
  • Men
  • Other gender(s)
• Emotionally attracted to (a spectrum)
  • Women
  • Men
  • Other gender(s)

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Anti-Violence Continuum/Pyramid image description.

A pyramid representing different aspects of rape culture. As you go to higher levels of the pyramid, the degree of discrimination increases. These are the levels of the pyramid from low to high:

• Attitudes and beliefs, including ableism, racism, sexism, homophabia, transphobia, and ageism.
• Cultural microaggressions, which can be subtle, intentional, or unintentional. These can include social exclusion, misrepresentation, and cultural invisibility.
• Verbal expression, which can include sexual harassment and making sexual jokes.
• Physical expression, which can include physical and/or sexual assault.
• Homicide and or suicide.

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Colonial Violence Wheel image description.

A wheel with the words “colonial violence” in the centre. Within each spoke of the wheel are examples of colonial violence. Surrounding the outer edge of the wheel are the words, “resilience,” “resistance,” and “self-determination.” Here are the examples of colonial violence:

• Segregation policies. Examples: Indigenous people not legally defined as a “person” until 1951, restriction of movement, separate schools and health care.
• Land theft. Examples: Land taken without consent, removed from land and forced onto reserves, local and international treaties (UNDRIP) ignored or broken.
• Medical experimentation. Examples: Indigenous women sterilized without consent, introduction of smallpox on blankets, experimentation on Indigenous children for food/starvation research.
• Cultural genocide. Examples: The Potlatch Ban, ban of all ceremonial gatherings and practices, loss of language and traditional teachings, sexist policies (Bill C-31).
• Assimilation policies. Examples: Residential schools, the 60’s Scoop, rape of Indigenous women and children in residential schools and other institutions.
• Forced economic dependence. Examples: restricted access to hunting grounds, loss of habitat for food sources, inability to negotiate “Nation-to-Nation” as legally “wards of the state,” treaty rights not honoured.

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Asking Questions to Promote Critical Thinking

Using questions is a simple way to deepen discussion and to promote critical thinking. We all make assumptions in order to arrive at opinions of how things are, what is important, and how things “should be.” Drawing out learner’s thoughts through the use of critical questions can help you to understand how to connect key concepts to learners’ personal experiences.

Key questions to encourage critical thinking could include:

• “Could you say a little more about that?”
• “Can you take us through your thinking on that?”
• “Where did you learn that?”
• “When did you first think that?”
• “When did you start thinking about that differently? What happened to change your mind?”

You also can ask questions to help reframe an issue. For example:

• Why do we teach people how to avoid sexual assault rather than teach people how not to sexually assault others?
• Why do you think that sexual violence is usually seen as a women’s issue? What responsibility do you think men might have in stopping sexual violence? How are people of all genders impacted?

Responding to Common Myths about Sexual Violence

There are many stereotypes, myths, and beliefs about sexual violence that do not reflect what research evidence tells us about sexual violence. There are many different approaches to responding to common myths during a discussion, including sharing statistics or research, asking a reflective question, clarifying definitions and concepts, or sharing an anecdote or experiential perspective. Below are some suggestions on how to respond to common myths about sexual violence (Sexual Violence and Prevention Response Office, 2020).

Adapted from: Sexual Violence and Prevention Response Office. (2020). Bystander Intervention (Facilitation notes). Thompson River University. Used with permission.

Transitions and Difficult Conversations

While facilitating, you are likely to encounter challenging moments when you might not be sure how to respond, when you strongly disagree with the perspective of the learner, or when the conversation has shifted in a direction that makes you concerned for the comfort and safety of other learners.

Below are some potential responses for handling difficult moments (Sexual Violence and Prevention Response Office, 2020):

• “Interesting. I’m not sure how to respond to that. Let me think on that for a minute and I’ll bring us back to that”
• “I’m not comfortable with where this conversation is going. I’d like to bring us back to some of the activities/questions we had planned.”
• “I’m just getting conscious of time here. Let’s move on for now.”
• “How do you think that comment might land for a survivor? I’m reminded of the commitments we all made when we came to the workshop…”
• “Tell me more about that.”
• “Where did you learn that/where does that thinking come from? Does anyone benefit from that?”
• “It’s okay for us to agree to disagree. Let’s move on for now.”

Self-care and community care are about looking after yourself and those around you. Facilitating learning about sexual violence can range from satisfying and rewarding to challenging and overwhelming. It is important to make sure that you are able to take the time to take care of yourself and that you are willing to reach out to co-workers, friends and family, or professional supports, if needed.

Ideally, you will be in a situation where you are delivering training with a co-facilitator. Not only is this helpful if a learner needs support during a session, it also helps to have someone with whom to share the joys and challenges of facilitation. After a session, plan for time afterwards to check in with each other about your experiences and any successes or challenges in facilitating. This allows for time to reflect on issues related to participation, inclusion, and safety; to consider any feedback that you received from learners; and, to discuss any facilitation successes and challenges. If you are facilitating alone, you might use the time after a session to reflect or use a journal to make notes as a way of processing the experience.

Because any member of a campus community may be the recipient of a disclosure, all campus community members should be trained to appropriately respond to a disclosure of sexual violence. This training is especially important for community members who are likely to receive a disclosure, such as resident advisors (Orchowski & Gidycz, 2015).

Educational workshops for training individuals to respond to disclosures of sexual violence can contain a breadth of information such as: a definition of sexual violence and the prevalence of sexual violence on campuses; the impacts of sexual violence, including how trauma affects survivor responses; how to appropriately respond (listen, believe, support); on- and off- campus sexual violence resources; and the importance of self-care for responders (EVA-BC, 2016b).

Foremost, this training aims to provide learners with practical skills and knowledge in order to increase their confidence in responding to a disclosure of sexual violence in a way that supports and does not further harm the survivor. This training also provides an opportunity to explore and understand some of the contextual factors and root causes that support sexual violence in society, including how rape culture creates barriers to disclosing and reporting acts of sexual violence.

This training is grounded in a trauma-informed approach which acknowledges the individualized effects of sexual violence on survivors and others, empowering survivors with choice and control in disclosing, reporting, accessing support at their own pace, and respecting the survivors’ right to privacy and need for safety (Elliot, Bjelajac, Fallot, Markoff, & Reed, 2005). By outlining that the effects of sexual violence are significant and long lasting, not only for survivors but also for their family and friends, education and prevention programs further solidify their importance while simultaneously generating empathy for survivors.

This training can be delivered in both in-person and remote (online) formats. Changes required to deliver this workshop remotely, through a video conference platform such as Zoom, are minimal and are primarily within the activities sections and involve placing learners in breakout rooms to practice skills and discuss content. The details of adjustments for remote delivery can be found within the facilitator notes for the activities.

In most instances, delivering this training in person is preferable. In-person delivery usually provides a greater opportunity for connection and relationship building between facilitator and learners, greater engagement between all learners, and more opportunities for facilitators to check for comprehension. Advantages for remote delivery include convenience, ability to reach students off-campus or prior to arriving on campus and the ability to record trainings.

An ideal institutional practice would see all students, faculty, administration (including leadership) and staff complete this workshop early in the school year, perhaps within a suite of trainings (i.e., other training on preventing and responding to sexual violence). Regular updates of sexual violence trainings (e.g., yearly) is also a “wise practice.”

There are multiple opportunities to connect content found in this workshop to other training on sexual violence. For example, conversations about rape culture and myths about sexual violence in training on responding to disclosures can be linked to bystander intervention skills and how learners would respond to these situations. This training can also be included as part of the curriculum for various programs, a professional development opportunity for faculty and staff, or an extra-curricular credit offering.

Before facilitating this training, you will want to ensure that you are well-informed about campus and community support services including which staff members at your institution are designated to receive sexual violence reports. Make sure you are aware of reporting options, including their processes: no report, report to institution/college, report to police, third party report to police, medical assistance, forensic medical exam, civil claim as well as any union requirements to report sexual violence.

You will also want to create or update a resource that provides a comprehensive list of on-campus and community-based services, including police-based and community-based victim services workers, counsellors, and the 24-hour emergency crisis line phone number. See Section 1: Getting Started for a list of what to include and download an example of a “Supporting Survivors” resource list below.

Different campus community groups may have different responses to sexual violence training. For example, younger students, female students, those who have experienced sexual assault and those involved in extra-curricular activities are more likely to endorse and believe sexual violence prevention education programs are useful for themselves and the post-secondary institution as a whole (Jozkowski, Henry, & Sturm, 2015). Students whose studies include related fields (e.g., social work, mental health, etc.), are likely to have a positive response to the training, while other students, staff and community groups may have mixed appreciation for the relevance of sexual violence training. Unfortunately, sub-groups of students that are generally considered at higher risk of committing sexual violence —men and individuals on either intramural sports teams or university athletic sports teams—are more likely to believe that sexual violence education is not important for them personally or for the student body as a whole (Jozkowski, et. al, 2015).

In general, the primary outcome for this training is to increase the confidence and skills of learners to safely and effectively respond to disclosures of sexual violence. Careful consideration for the audience demographics and making necessary adjustments to the training, choice of facilitators and delivery style, can increase the engagement of learners and the overall efficacy of this training.

In addition to matching the facilitators with the learner groups, an important adjustment is to apply practice scenarios and conversation topics that are most relevant to the learner group. This training provides several diverse scenarios, and you should use scenarios that the learners are most likely to encounter. You can also create additional practice scenarios and conversation topics based on your knowledge of the learners you will be working with.

Below are some considerations for specific groups of learners.

Male-Dominant Groups

As mentioned, male-dominant learner groups (e.g., trades programs, male sports teams) may display resistance to sexual violence training (e.g., they may be supportive of rape myths). In such instances, male facilitators can play an important role by utilizing their position and privilege to centre the conversation on sexual violence as primarily a men’s issue (see, for example, Jackson Katz’s substantive work in this area). Regardless of the identity of the survivor, perpetrators of sexual violence are primarily men.

When learners express being supportive of rape myths, a powerful example can be to compare the lack of response to sexual violence with the response to other crimes. In other words, what would it look like if authorities responded to other crimes in the way they respond to sexual violence? “Imagine your car is broken into and the police respond by questioning and blaming you for the ‘bad area of town’ you decided to leave your car in.”

Statistics (i.e., high rates of sexual violence, at-risk groups, etc.) can also be helpful when you encounter resistance. Relevant statistics can be found throughout this training, in both the slides and facilitation notes. However, it is important that you make explicit that groups are targeted for violence as a result of systemic discrimination within institutions and communities, not through actions of their own.

Faculty and Staff Groups

To ensure that all members of the campus community, including faculty and staff, take seriously issues related to sexual violence and their responsibilities in prevention and response, “[p]ost-secondary institutions are encouraged to develop comprehensive responses to sexual violence that are led by senior administration at the college/university” (EVA-BC, 2016a, p. 16). Presidents, vice-presidents, and deans have an important role in ensuring that all mid-level administrators, faculty and staff are involved with sexual violence training and are aware of the institution’s sexual violence and misconduct policies. In addition to role-modeling the importance of training on sexual violence prevention and response through their own participation, top-level administrators can strongly encourage participation and training for all staff, faculty and students.

Certain learner groups may be more likely to be directly involved in receiving disclosures and assisting in reporting as part of their role in the post-secondary institution (i.e., staff and faculty groups). For these groups, additional information about the various disclosure and reporting options available may be helpful (see table below). Facilitators should also be aware of any processes that are in place though either institution or union policies. Consider creating a flow-chart illustrating the possible sequential order of steps in a disclosure or reporting process. For more information see EVA-BC’s Practice Tips for Universities and Colleges (2016).

There are many options for survivors in disclosing and reporting experiences of sexual violence. A survivor may choose any of the following options or a combination of them.

Adapted from: Ending Violence Association of BC. (2016). Responding to a Sexual Assault Disclosure: Practice Tips for Universities and Colleges.

Facilitators should also be aware of the academic and non-academic accommodations available to survivors of sexual violence. There may be accommodations available for employees also.

Non-Academic Accommodations may relate to housing, employment or other forms of financial aid. For example, students may request a change of residence and employees may request a change of department or faculty.

Academic Accommodations may include permission to miss classes, extensions on assignments, course withdrawal without penalty  and other accommodations to support survivors’ academic success.

International Students

In communities where sex is considered to be a taboo topic, it may be difficult for learners who are international students to engage in certain discussions. Discomfort discussing sex may also become a barrier for obtaining consent and disclosing sexual violence. It can be best to acknowledge the discomfort and not assume that everyone has the same level of sex education. Some cultures are not as likely to engage in direct eye contact or focused body language. Language can also be a barrier for students and careful consideration should be given to avoiding jargon and slang as well as checking for comprehension and the cultural context of certain topics. In some cultures, “no” may not be verbalized and is presented instead through body language or silence. Alternatively, other phrases may be used to convey a “no”, such as “not right now” or “I’m not comfortable.” Referring to Canadian legislation related to sexual violence, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and your institution’s sexual violence and misconduct policy can be helpful to explain.

It will be important to be clear on the many definitions presented throughout the training and specifically what is meant by a “disclosure” and “report.” Learners will process the information better knowing that there are options and that they can make their own decisions. Information about free services and supports which include police and third party reporting, access to medical options and community resources increase safety and empower international students to make informed decisions which are right for them.

During your sessions, help learners of other backgrounds to understand that there are many reasons why an international student may not be willing to report sexual violence. They may have specific needs and challenges in accessing help. Language barriers, fear of deportation, fear of the perpetrator and fear of isolation from their peer group for disclosing, cultural stigma and often not understanding the legalities around sexual violence and consent are all factors. Being knowledgeable about resources, supports, and immigration regulations will help to support the disclosure. Like all survivors, it is important to believe international students when they disclose and to validate their feelings: international students may blame themselves based on their cultural expectations and stigma associated with sex and sexual violence. See MOSAICBC for more information on challenges specific to international students.

People who are LGBTQ2ISA+

People in the LGBTQ2SIA+ community are disproportionately targeted by perpetrators of sexual violence. Because of the lasting societal prevalence of homophobia, transphobia and queerphobia, they may be isolated from supportive networks of families and friends. Experiences with medical professionals and the criminal justice system may not offer culturally competent support or a sense of safety for queer victims of sexual violence. Likewise, victims of queer sexual violence may be reluctant to seek support or report the harm done to them (e.g., a straight, cisgender man may feel shame about being victimized by another man and choose not to seek support). The LGBTQ2SIA+ community is often seen as a safe haven from those who may violently target queer and transgender people, so victims and survivors of sexual violence may be reluctant to disclose that they have been harmed by sexual violence from those within their community. Care must be taken to understand and acknowledge the intersecting oppressions faced by LGBTQ2SIA+ people of colour and those who are disabled and Indigenous. If at all possible, offer community and campus resources for queer victims of sexual violence that are culturally relevant (i.e., resources for Two Spirit people, queers of colour, disabled queers, religious queers, etc.).

This section complements the facilitator notes included in the slide deck. It provides suggestions on how to “go deeper” into topics depending on time available, audience interest, and goals for the training.

Opening

• Title Slide
• Land acknowledgement: Adapt your institution’s land acknowledgement. Territorial acknowledgements are designed as the very first step to reconciliation. What we do with the knowledge of whose traditional lands we are on is the next important step. Some questions to consider as you acknowledge your territory:
  • What do we do as good guests here?
  • What can you do in your personal and professional roles to contribute to reconciliation? Should your institution have an approved territorial acknowledgement, please use that to open the session; however, we invite you to consider how to make that institution statement more personal and specific to you in this moment and in the work you are about to delve into with your learners. Alongside every act of violence exists a parallel story of resistance to that violence and so Indigenous people’s historical and ongoing resistance to colonial violence must also be recognized. For more information please see Section 1: Territory Acknowledgement and Section 2: Roots of Violence and the facilitator notes for the Land Acknowledgement slide.
• Welcome and facilitator introductions:
  • Option to have name tags for learners where they can indicate their names and preferred pronouns.
  • Option to have facilitators’ names, pronouns, and positions on title.
  • Recommendation for an additional slide describing the specific department or service at your institution that is providing this workshop as well as the services / programming they provide. Link to your institution’s sexual violence and misconduct policy.
• Workshop expectations: Facilitators should explain that they will be available after the workshop has concluded to debrief with any learners that require support and that the institution’s counselling services are available. Additionally, learners can private message a specific facilitator (email), should they require support.

Section 1: What is Sexual Violence and What Can It Look Like?

• Learning outcomes for this training
• Definitions: Sexual Violence: Recommendation to go deeper by continuing discussion on power, control and privilege in relation to sexual violence i.e.,sexual violence is about power not about sexual desire. For example, understanding sexual violence as an act of force and theft on an individual in the same way that colonization is the forcible theft of land and has supported acts of rape, genital mutilation, forced sterilization, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Girls and Women.
• Definitions: Consent: Recommendation to go deeper by focusing on why it can be challenging for some people to say no, again focusing on power dynamics of situations and relationships. Consider the messages that some people receive in childhood and certain cultural contexts – what groups are encouraged to be submissive and compliant (women, children/youth, people of colour)? Conversely, what groups are given the message that they have entitlement to things and people (i.e., cisgender men and boys)? Link to patriarchy and colonialism.
• Possible scenarios activity (adapted to audience): Recommendation to go deeper by exploring the power dynamics and social locations (intersectionality) of the characters in the scenario.
• Listen, Believe, Support framework: The likelihood that learners may one day receive a disclosure is significant. The type of response that a survivor receives when they disclose can greatly impact their emotional and psychological health.

Section 2: Impacts of Sexual Violence

• Impacts of Trauma: While responses to trauma look different for each person, the potential for impact across all domains of life and health is high. Be aware of how different groups may experience trauma. Coping and adaptation patterns (such as high risk behaviours, e.g., substance use, unsafe sex practices, etc.) may have developed in response to trauma and can be passed from one generation to the next.
• Types of Trauma: Intergenerational, vicarious. We can’t make assumptions about how a survivor may respond to sexual violence.
• Barriers to disclosure: Recommendation to go deeper by exploring why these barriers are present, specifically focusing on power dynamics and social locations of survivors and responders.
• Rape culture: Recommendation to go deeper by exploring elements of culture (i.e., media) that support rape culture and sexual objectification: misogynistic lyrics, violent pornography, attitudes of those in power. Regarding pornography, option for discussing what aspects of porn might promote rape culture (i.e., non-consensual, objectification, violence etc.). Also acknowledging that consuming porn is not shameful and there is pornography that demonstrates consent and shifts from a solely male gaze. See Roots of Violence in Section 2.
• Overlapping marginalizations: Research shows that certain groups of individuals disproportionally experience sexual violence. However, it is important that the facilitator makes explicit that groups are at risk for violence as a result of systemic discrimination within institutions and communities not through actions of their own.
• Perpetrators: Recommendation for extending the discussion: examples of victim blaming found in rape culture (survivor’s choice of clothing, environment, state of mind, etc.).

Break

Section 3: Responding to disclosures of sexual violence

• Goals of responding: Remind learners to consider their own social location in relation to the person disclosing. How can you increase the comfort of the person disclosing? How can you use your privilege to best support this person (e.g., are you in a position of authority or leadership in the institution)?
• Empathy (video)
• Active listening: The survivor will share their sexual violence experience because they see you as a safe and trustworthy person. Listen to what they want to share and mirror the language they are using to show that you understand.
• Believe: Validation and understanding can provide emotional comfort for the survivor.
• Disclosing vs. reporting: Facilitator should be aware of the institution’s sexual violence response policy, specifically any limits to confidentiality and the responsibilities of staff to report incidences of sexual violence. Consult with the appropriate administrator to better understand any staff responsibilities to report.
• Take away: There are many options for survivors and decisions on how to proceed and decisions do not need to be made immediately. Consulting with Community-Based Victim Services to better understand survivors’ options is recommended.
• Support: The person who is disclosing has complete control over what next steps and actions, if any, will be taken next. This includes whether or not to report, seek support services, or share this information with anyone else.
• Support services: Facilitators should ensure they are familiar with their institution’s various support services, especially any positions designated to receive disclosures and reports. Facilitators should also be familiar with local community-based services, as well as VictimLinkBC, and any access/inclusion considerations. Facilitators should be aware of accommodations that are available to survivors, such as academic or residential accommodations and whether these accommodations are accessible without filing a formal report. Be aware of accommodations for employee disclosures as well. Populate the slide with institution and community specific services (including website and phone numbers) and adapt to the audience demographic.
• Self-care: Once a substantive list of self-care practices are generated by the learners, consider challenging the individualistic nature of self-care, highlighting that care from the community and resources from institutions are also needed. Excellent blog post on “The Unspoken Complexity of Self Care.”

  

  The Wellness Wheel illustration in the slide deck was developed by Jewell Gillies, Musgamgw Dzawada’enux (they/them/theirs), and aligns with Indigenous traditional practices that view wellness holistically. You can download a handout version to share with learners here: BCcampus Wellness Wheel Worksheet [PDF].

• Practice Listen, Believe, Support (activity): Practice the Listen, Believe, Support framework in partners. Important: To avoid potentially triggering learners, they should be asked to disclose a challenging, non-sexual event (i.e., a disagreement with a friend, being fired from a job, failing an exam). The framework and response remains the same but the disclosure can be something benign like what they did last weekend. Debrief activity.

Closing

• Resisting rape culture: Focus on the actions individuals can do, in their everyday lives to make society safer for others. Link to active bystander actions.
• Revisit scenarios activity (post-assessment): Re-read original scenario from the first section. Facilitate group discussion on what knowledge and skills the learners now possess. Focus on awareness of the impacts of sexual violence, practised responding skills and knowledge of local resources.
• Acknowledgements
• Thank you for participating

When delivering training on sexual violence, you will want to consider different mechanisms for evaluating both short- and long-term outcomes. We encourage you to collaborate with community frontline workers and organizations and researchers within your institution to develop a comprehensive evaluation strategy to determine the overall effectiveness of various forms of training on preventing and responding to sexual violence at your institution as well as other indicators such as awareness of your institution’s sexual violence and misconduct policy, changes in attitudes and values related to sexual violence, and the effectiveness of institutional response to sexual violence (including investigations, accommodations, and collaboration with different stakeholders and on- and off-campus organizations).

A consistent approach to measuring similar workshops will allow you to compare them over time and show improvement or the need for adapting the workshop to be more successful for the intended audience. The pre/post test is a common form of evaluating training programs. Identical tests are used at the beginning and end of the training and the results are compared to examine changes in knowledge, attitudes, and skills. Pre-tests can be given at the time of registration for a workshop or at the beginning of a session. Post-test can be given at the end of the sesion or shortly after the date of the last session. Additional tests can be given at set time after the workshop to assess long-term impact, e.g., 3 months, 6 months, 1 year. Post-tests can also be used throughout longer trainings, e.g., at the end of a morning session and again at the end of an afternoon session.

Frequently, pre/post-test questions will be a mix of quantitative and qualitative questions. Quantitative questions are usually answered by many respondents and have definitive answers. They often use Likert scales, where respondents indicate how much they agree or disagree with a statement by choosing from a set of fixed choices on a linear scale (e.g., strongly agree, agree, neither agree or disagree, disagree, strongly disagree). Qualitative questions can be used to understand these statements and to gather information not captured by the quantitative questions. All the questions should link to the learning objectives and outcomes for the training.

This training includes an example of how to incorporate pre/post-test assessment to determine learners’ comprehension and success in reaching the learning outcomes. Slides 11-15 include four “What would you do if….?” scenarios. You can choose to share 1-2 scenarios with students and ask them “What do you already know about responding to disclosures of sexual violence?” Slide 45 at the end of the workshop provides an opportunity to review the original scenario(s). You can facilitate discussion on the knowledge and skills the learners now have, e.g., awareness of the impacts of sexual violence, practised responding skills, and knowledge of local resources. (These areas of discussion parallel the learning outcomes for this training).

Below are examples of pre/post-test questions that can be used as part of your evaluation for this training.

Pre-Test

1. How well do you understand the term “sexual violence”?
   

   1 No understanding

   2

   3 Somewhat understand

   4

   5 Clearly understand

2. How well do you understand the factors that contribute to sexual violence happening?
   

   1 No understanding

   2

   3 Somewhat understand

   4

   5 Clearly understand

3. How knowledgeable do you feel about what to do if you receive a disclosure of sexual violence?
   

   1 Not at all knowledgeable

   2

   3 Somewhat knowledgeable

   4

   5 Very knowledgeable

4. Can you think of different ways that trauma may impact someone?
   

   1 Cannot think of any

   2

   3 Can think of a few

   4

   5 Can think of many

5. Can you think of reasons why people may not disclose that they have experienced sexual violence?
   

   1 Cannot think of any

   2

   3 Can think of a few

   4

   5 Can think of many

6. Can you think of different ways to respond if you receive a disclosure of sexual violence?
   

   1 Cannot think of any

   2

   3 Can think of a few

   4

   5 Can think of many

7. Can you think of support services for survivors of sexual violence?
   

   1 Cannot think of any

   2

   3 Can think of a few

   4

   5 Can think of many

Post-Test

1. How well do you understand the term “sexual violence”?
   

   1 No understanding

   2

   3 Somewhat understand

   4

   5 Clearly understand

2. Has your understanding of the term “sexual violence” changed? YES or NO
   1. If YES, how?
3. How well do you understand the factors that contribute to sexual violence happening?
   

   1 No understanding

   2

   3 Somewhat understand

   4

   5 Clearly understand

4. Has your understanding of the factors that contribute to sexual violence changed? YES or NO
   1. If YES, how?
5. How knowledgeable do you feel about what to do if you receive a disclosure of sexual violence?
   

   1 Not at all knowledgeable

   2

   3 Somewhat knowledgeable

   4

   5 Very knowledgeable

   1. If you learned something new about this, what was it?
6. Can you think of different ways that trauma may impact someone?
   

   1 Cannot think of any

   2

   3 Can think of a few

   4

   5 Can think of many

   1. If you learned something new about this, what was it?
7. Can you think of reasons why people may not disclose that they have experienced sexual violence?
   

   1 Cannot think of any

   2

   3 Can think of a few

   4

   5 Can think of many

   1. If you learned something new about this, what was it?
8. Can you think of different ways to respond if you receive a disclosure of sexual violence?
   

   1 Cannot think of any

   2

   3 Can think of a few

   4

   5 Can think of many

   1. If you learned something new about this, what was it?
9. Can you think of support services for survivors of sexual violence?
   

   1 Cannot think of any

   2

   3 Can think of a few

   4

   5 Can think of many

   1. If you learned something new about this, what was it?
10. What are one or two main pieces of knowledge or skills you’re taking away?
11. Was there anything missing from the training?
12. Is there anything you are still wondering about?

You may find these resources helpful to review for your own learning as a facilitator or to include in your trainings.

• British Columbia Society for Male Survivors of Sexual Abuse (BCSMSSA). A non-profit organization that provides therapeutic services for males who have been sexually abused at some time in their lives.
• Decolonizing the Roots of Rape Culture: reflections on consent, sexual violence and university campuses (podcast and paper) (Sarah Hunt, 2016)
  A discussion about how Indigenous approaches to consent, self-determination and healing from intergenerational trauma and ongoing colonial violence can be integrated into anti-violence work on campuses.
• “Family Healing”, National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (University of Manitoba)
  A short video (2min10 sec) on the effects of residential school traumas and how Indigenous Peoples are healing together (2020).
• How to Support a Survivor of Sexual Violence. Web-based training on sexual violence developed by Royal Roads University (2020) that can be adapted by individual post-secondary institutions.
• International Student Safety Guide, MOSAIC. Available in multiple languages.
• “Maya’xala and Namwayut“, Jewell Gillies (BCCampus, 2021)
  This short video (2min43sec)with Jewell Gillies discusses Indigenous perspectives on community and caring for each other.
• Plain Language Best Practices: Sexualized Violence Policies and Procedures: A Model for BC Post-secondary Institutions, West Coast Editorial Associates (BCcampus)
• Responding to a Sexual Assault Disclosure: Practice Tips for Universities & Colleges, Ending Violence Association of BC (2016)
• “Rosie on Reconciliation”, National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (University of Manitoba) A short video (3min16sec) from the in which Rosie, a young Métis child speaks about the history of Métis people and the importance of reconciliation (2020).
• Sexual Assault JustFacts, Department of Justice, Research and Statistics Division (2019)
• “Traditional Healing”, National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (University of Manitoba)
  An animated short by Raymond Caplin (2min7sec) on the role of traditional healing in reconciliation (2020).
• Understanding Rape Culture (infographic), Violence Against Women Learning Network, Western University
• Responding to Disclosures of Sexual Violence, Vanier Academic Voices.