Appendix 3: Create Your Own Scenarios

If there is time, you could have participants compose their own practice scenarios. It is recommended that participants adapt various elements of this training (including practice scenarios) to be as relevant as possible to the participant group.

Please note: Care should be taken when working with students or community members writing scenarios. It’s likely that writers will be drawing from lived experiences of sexualized violence. It is not recommended that scenarios include detailed and explicit information about sexualized violence acts and impacts. Please see the provided scenarios in Appendix 2 for example.

When composing practice scenarios, consider the following elements.

Diversity: Scenarios should show diversity in the types of relationships students can have. Different relationships will have different types of boundaries, power dynamics, and levels of comfort and support.

Graduate students and post-secondary staff have unique positionalities (e.g., race, Indigeneity, gender, class, ability), as well as professional roles within the institution (student, instructor, teaching assistant, research assistant). Consider scenarios and interactions where graduate students may violate others’ boundaries, have their own boundaries violated, or receive a disclosure of sexualized violence.

Setting: Consider where and when the interaction and boundary violation take place. Scenarios could occur in learning environments like classrooms or labs, work settings such as field work environments or offices, social settings such as parties, bars, and conferences, or online environments.

Dialogue: Dialogue should be short and provide information about the interaction and boundary violation. Writing can be in either first- or third-person tense.

Responses: Provide responses for participants to refer to if they require additional direction or suggestions about how the impacted person can respond and what actions they can take. Response scripts should centre and empower the affected person and provide multiple options for responding and seeking support. Possible responses should include scripts including what to say and what not to say as well as the most appropriate support resources. Suggested responses should also acknowledge the power differentials, underlying cultural and behavioural norms, and possible impacts on different responses and actions.

Use the framework below to help map out your scenario.

• Setting: The when and where
  • Various learning, work, or social, or online environments
• Individuals involved
  • The diverse identity and professional position of the individuals.
  • How their identity, role and accompanying power dynamics impact the interaction.
• Dialogue and description of the interaction
  • Briefly describe the situation.
• Responses
  • Responses to boundary violation
  • How is the context relevant (field of study, power dynamics as barriers to responding, public or private setting, and the cultural/historical norms present)?
  • Follow-up care. What are some of the possible impacts and most appropriate support services?