Discussion Questions: Key Principles
The following discussion questions can be used in tandem with Worksheet #1 or on their own to further discussion of the key principles for effective SV training and resources:
- What principles and approaches are currently informing the development and delivery of SV training and resources at your institution? What strengths do they highlight? Are there other principles specific to your context that you might consider, e.g., harm reduction as a way of making links between gender-based violence and substance use?
- Which principles already align with the principles, values, and stated goals of your PSI? E.g., does your institution have policies on access or diversity, equity, and inclusion? Indigenization or reconciliation? Gender-based analysis?
- Are there gaps in knowledge in relation to these principles? Are there opportunities to support new and ongoing learning about these different approaches, either specific to SV or to other activities and issues?
- Are there opportunities to identify key indicators in each area specific to your institution? Can these be incorporated into ongoing evaluations or revisited later to see if progress has been made?
Our Responding to Disclosures workshop for student leaders was initially developed and facilitated by an external group to the university. While the program was developed with a strong skeletal structure (meaning it was evidence-informed), it did not meet the cultural needs of our unique university community and was not presented in a gender-inclusive way. With these lessons learned, we gained capacity in our institution to develop and facilitate sexual violence prevention education internally with great success.A learning experience I have had regarding the principle of “culturally located” is the recognition that consent looks different in different cultures. When it comes to education on consent, boundaries, and healthy relationships, educators and anti-violence workers on campuses can reduce barriers by connecting with their different populations and learning more about these topics within a cultural group. I would also suggest that tailored educational programming for specific cultures might be appropriate and that this could be developed and co-facilitated by people from that culture, either from within the PSI or with a community-based agency.