The Intersectional Sexualized Violence Advisory Group identified nine key principles that are essential to sexualized violence prevention, intervention, and responses in post-secondary institutions

• Accessibility
• Cultural safety
• Decolonial approach
• Experience-informed
• Gender inclusivity
• Intersectionality
• Survivor-centred
• Violence-informed and trauma-informed practice
• Healing-centred and transformative justice approaches

Power Dynamics and Boundaries: A Sexualized Violence Prevention Workshop for Graduate Students was developed using these principles. Any changes that are made to the resource should align with them.

The BCcampus Intersectional Sexualized Violence resources are open education resources (OERs): either they have an open-copyright licence (such as one from Creative Commons) or they are part of the public domain and have no copyright. Depending on the licence used, OERs can be freely accessed, used, re-mixed, improved, and shared. For example, institutions may want to:

• Provide information and contacts for specific services available on campus and in the community
• Use images from the institution’s campuses and local community
• Use the institution’s logo
• Support Indigenization by incorporating additional Indigenous content and approaches
• Translate resources into different languages

Power Dynamics and Boundaries: A Sexualized Violence Prevention Workshop for Graduate Students is based on an environmental scan of sexualized violence education and prevention materials for publicly funded B.C. post-secondary institutions and community partners. It also involved interviewing key stakeholders and subject matter experts, and a limited literature review. The recommendations were published in the report Sexualized Violence and the Graduate Student Experience: Report on Existing Education and Prevention Materials in B.C. Post-Secondary Institutions (Hillman, 2023).

Data gleaned through this environmental scan and the accompanying literature review exposed key themes in the graduate student experience with sexualized violence. From these themes, several recommendations for planning and developing training programs. Relevant themes that emerged from the report are below:

• Due to the multiple and unique roles that graduate students can occupy in post-secondary institutions (e.g., student, teaching assistant, research assistant, sessional instructor), sexualized violence education needs to focus on appropriate relationships and boundaries between graduate students and others in post-secondary institutions, with particular attention to hierarchical power.
• Various aspects of existing training programs, including content and facilitation, need to be customized to be relevant and accessible to graduate students, including practice scenarios, support and resources, method and medium of delivery.
• Faculty and employee education are a significant factor in preventing sexualized violence involving graduate students. Engaging post-secondary staff in sexualized violence training has been historically challenging.
• Education on an institution’s sexualized violence policy and processes, including student and employee rights and responsibilities, needs to be included in future training programs.
• The institution’s administration and leadership should play a role by acknowledging a historical culture of entitlement, especially in some faculties. Sexualized violence policies and processes need to be robust, accessible, and survivor-centred, and prevention and education training should be mandatory whenever possible, for all members of a post-secondary institution.

The environmental scan identified two existing training programs as strong models on which to base this training: Navigating Power Dynamics and Boundaries as a Graduate Student by Possibility Seeds (Livingston, et al., 2023) and Professional Boundaries for TAs by Simon Fraser University (2020). This training draws on elements from both the Simon Fraser University and the Possibility Seeds training programs and provides significant new contributions, including a focus on power dynamics within the various professional relationships that graduate students must navigate. Graduate students from a variety of disciplines wrote the practice scenarios based on their unique experiences of sexualized violence.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successfully completing this training, participants will be able to:

• Define sexualized violence
• Discuss sexualized violence and power dynamics in graduate student culture
• Describe different kinds of boundaries
• Identify strategies for responding to boundary violations and sexualized violence
• Practise setting boundaries and responding to sexualized violence using scenarios
• Identify relevant campus and community resources

Agenda and Length of the Workshop

The agenda below assumes that you will offer the workshop over 90 minutes; however, you may want more time and could extend the session to two or more hours to allow time for more discussion and to give participants more time to work through the scenarios at the end.

While the workshop is adaptable, we recommend that you include the scenario practice and discussion as this allows participants to consider how to apply the skills and various approaches discussed to address power dynamics and boundary violations.

This agenda provides suggested times for each section, but facilitators should feel free to adjust the time.

Delivery Options

This training can be delivered in both in-person and online formats.

In-person training provides more opportunities for connection and relationship building between a facilitator and participants can be easier to check in with participants.

However, online delivery, using a video conference platform like Zoom, can be done quite effectively and offers opportunities for people who might otherwise be unable to attend an in-person session. Only minimal changes are required to deliver this workshop online. Activities involve placing participants in breakout rooms. The details of adjustments for online delivery are in the facilitator notes for the activities.

Hybrid delivery (delivering simultaneously to both in-person and online participants) is not recommended for this training. Hybrid delivery is very challenging and requires a webcam and a large screen or display unit, as well as facilitator experience, with this type of delivery.

An ideal institutional practice would see all graduate students complete this workshop early in the academic year, perhaps with related workshops on preventing and responding to sexualized violence. Annual or regular updates of sexualized violence workshops is also a wise practice.

There are multiple opportunities to connect content in this workshop to other training programs on sexualized violence. For example, conversations about rape culture and myths about sexualized violence in training on responding to disclosures can be linked to bystander intervention skills and how participants would respond to these situations. For a list of BCcampus resources, see the Intersectional Sexualized Violence Project.

Audience Considerations

This training is for graduate students and was designed to be facilitated by peers or post-secondary support staff who work with graduate students. If resources are available, it’s ideal to have facilitators from a range of positionalities deliver training related to sexualized violence prevention and response. Having facilitators of diverse backgrounds is important in creating safe, inclusive, and welcoming learning environments for diverse learners.

Research shows that graduate students are almost four times as likely as undergraduate students to be sexually harassed by faculty or staff (Peter & Stewart, 2019). The Open Secrets Project by Students for Consent Culture Canada provides a comprehensive summary of the scope and impact of sexualized violence by instructors against students. This research found that students and post-secondary staff shared similar perspectives about the normalization of a predatory culture in post-secondary institutions, the silencing of survivors through various institutionally driven means, and negative health and academic impacts on survivors.

This training presents an opportunity for graduate students to become more aware of the nature of sexualized violence at post-secondary institutions and to help change what has been, historically, a predatory and entitled culture that enables sexualized violence to occur (Students for Consent Culture Canada, 2021).

Separate Training for Faculty and Staff

It is not recommended that this training be facilitated by students’ direct instructors. It is also not recommended that staff or faculty be present for student training.

Participants may have questions about why faculty and staff are not required to take sexualized violence training like this one. Facilitators may consider some of the following responses to such inquiries:

• Unfortunately, there are barriers to engaging staff and faculty in a training of this nature, such as lack of time and interest, feeling that the topic does not apply to them or their students, and resistance to changes that challenge existing power dynamics.
• This training presents an opportunity for graduate students to change the existing culture and the student experience for future cohorts and support each other.
• As an openly licensed resource, this training can be adapted for additional audiences, and staff, faculty, and administrators should be encouraged to take training about sexualized violence.

To prepare to facilitate this workshop, please consider the following:

• Read through the facilitator’s guide to familiarize yourself with the content.
• Familiarize yourself with your institution’s sexualized violence policy and procedures. Be sure you have the most up-to-date version of the policy.
• Download the PowerPoint slides and make any modifications; add relevant examples and additional insights based on your own experience or that are relevant to the student population of participants. The following slides need to be customized:
  • Slide 2 Territory Acknowledgement
  • Slide 24 Activity: Practice Scenario
  • Slide 29 List of Supports
  • Slide 31 Small Group Activity: Scenario
• Familiarize yourself with the handouts in Appendix 1:
  • Supporting Survivors of Sexualized Violence (handout 1)
  • Wellness Wheel (handout 2)
  • Scenarios with Suggested Responses (handout 3)
• Determine how you will share the handouts and any other resources.
• Find out what post-secondary and community resources are available that support students who have experienced or witnessed sexualized violence and populate handout 1 and slide 29.
• Consider how many participants you expect will attend. The guide assumes approximately 6 to 30 participants; if your group is larger, you may need to modify some of the small-group activities.
• Prepare to give a territory acknowledgement to open the session.

In-Person Session

For a session held in person (not online), you will need the following:

• Laptop
• Projector
• Flipchart or whiteboard and appropriate markers
• Copies of the three handouts to share with participants

Online Session

For a session held online (for example, through Zoom), you should do the following:

• Schedule a meeting time in a video-conferencing program.
• Check that the screen share function is enabled to share slides.
• If using chat or breakout rooms, check that they are enabled.
• Share the meeting link and any passwords with participants prior to the session.
• Consider sending the meeting information at least twice, including once the day before the session. You may also want to share suggestions for online meeting etiquette for creating a safe learning space (e.g., sharing supportive comments and respecting confidentiality).
• Consider assigning someone to be the monitor responsible for responding to technical issues and questions posted to the chat.
• Make sure you have a plan for distributing handouts and other resources online. You could share PDFs in the chat, share links in the chat, or email participants after the session. Remember to let participants know how and when they can expect to receive these resources.

Ensuring Accessibility

Accessibility is designing and creating resources, experiences, tools, and spaces that support the diversity of participants. It centres the needs of people with disabilities to ensure that they can engage in ways that work best for them. Your institution will likely have policies, resources, and supports related to accessibility that you can build on as you prepare to deliver training on sexualized violence. Below is a list of questions about accessibility to consider before this workshop.

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 inclusive?
• If facilitating online, is the learning platform accessible to people using assistive technologies and a variety of devices?
• How can your institution help with accessibility? Consider contacting your institution’s accessibility services department for support in increasing the accessibility of this training.

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? For example, in an online workshop, are you asking questions, using breakout rooms, using the chat box, offering reflective activities, using 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 childcare?
• Do you provide a certificate of completion? Participants may appreciate this as it can be used to demonstrate knowledge and skills that could help them with a job, a volunteer opportunity, or simply for their own sense of satisfaction.

Below are scenarios exploring boundary violations in different academic environments and involving different power dynamics. These scenarios were created by graduate students based on their experiences and observations. Careful consideration was made to ensure that the scenarios include ample diversity of individuals, incidents, and possible responses.

Prior to the session, you should review the scenarios to determine which one(s) are best suited for the participant group.

After selecting one or more scenarios, you can copy and paste the text into slide 24 (Practice Scenario) and slide 31 (Small Group Activity: Scenario) in the PowerPoint presentation. Alternatively, you can create a handout with the scenario(s) to distribute to participants. If presenting online, you might want to copy the text into the chat.

After participants have completed discussing the scenario(s), you could provide them with Handout 3: Scenarios with Suggested Responses (see Appendix 1: Handouts), which includes a discussion and suggested responses for each scenario.

Note: Appendix 2: Additional Scenarios has more scenarios created by graduate students that you could use. You could also create your own scenarios or develop scenarios in collaboration with students at your institution. You’ll find more information in Appendix 3: Create Your Own Scenarios.

Scenario 1: Inappropriate Comment Between Students in a Lab

Cedar is a master’s student taking a research course that involves 10 hours of lab work. The lab is supervised by Cedar’s instructor Dr. Blake, and the lab coordinator is Alex, a PhD student. Alex is well-liked in the department and is known to be very friendly and welcoming. One day when Cedar is preparing various solutions for a reaction, Alex comes over to observe and chat. After some small talk, Alex comments, “Wow, you have really steady hands! It took me years to develop such great technique. Those hands must be good at a lot of other things, too.” Alex then laughs and winks at Cedar.

Scenario 2: Professor Asks Out Post-Doc Researcher at Conference

Sam is a post-doctoral researcher who hopes to become a research professor in engineering. She has been looking forward to the annual engineering conference, where she will give a presentation and have an opportunity to network and engage with global colleagues. She is especially excited to hear Professor Alex, who is renowned for their contributions to the field. At the conference, Professor Alex introduces the speakers, including Sam, and then he stays and watches Sam’s presentation. After Sam’s presentation, Professor Alex congratulates Sam and praises her work. Professor Alex asks Sam, “Would you like to have dinner at my place afterward? We can continue discussing as I cook a mean steak.” Despite feeling initially enthusiastic, Sam hesitates, experiencing uncertainty about Professor Alex’s intentions.

Scenario 3: Inappropriate Comment by a Professor

Tylor is completing a master’s degree in biochemistry. Her supervisor, Professor Edwards, often makes uncomfortable comments during their one-on-one meetings. During one meeting, Professor Edwards says, “You know, if you do well and I’m happy with your performance, you can transfer to the PhD program.” Tylor responds, “I think I’m not quite ready to do a PhD at this point.” Professor Edwards responds, “Oh? Well, what are your plans after graduation, then? Going back to your country and finding a rich husband? It shouldn’t be hard for you.” Tylor feels uncomfortable but stays quiet. Noticing her silence, Professor Edwards says, “I’m just joking! Lighten up!”

Scenario 4: Supervisory Committee Member Comes on to Student

Addison is a student in the Education department and is studying hard for their upcoming thesis defence. Ezra, a thesis supervisory committee member, invites Addison to their home to discuss Addison’s thesis. Addison arrives and finds Ezra visibly intoxicated, with slurred speech and poor coordination. Ezra says, “Sorry, I had a bit too much to drink earlier. Let’s sit down and talk.” Addison is uncomfortable but says, “So, about my thesis, I am thinking of rewriting chapter five as it doesn’t align with the new studies I have done.” Ezra interrupts, “That sounds interesting, but you know, I’ve always found you attractive.” Addison replies, “Thank you, but let’s stick to discussing my thesis. The deadline for submission is close.” Then Ezra begins to stroke Addison’s hand and puts an arm around them.

Scenario 5: Undermining Behaviour by a Research Team Member

Robin, a young female astrophysics master’s student in her final year, has been tasked by her supervisor to mentor Greg, an older, male, first-year master’s student who has extensive industry experience. Robin starts to observe distinct behaviours from Greg that appear to be directed solely at her. During their one-on-one fieldwork, for example, Greg becomes inattentive and dismissive. Robin can’t help but wonder whether this is because of the age gap or her being the only female in the group. Despite her uncertainty, she brushes these thoughts aside as mere assumptions. Greg also starts to challenge Robin’s expertise in front of their peers by questioning her techniques, saying, “Just ensuring the accuracy of the data.” When Robin defends her approach by stating, “I extensively used this method for my project and am confident in my teaching,” Greg responds with a dismissive chuckle, replying, “Sure.”

Scenario 6: Professor Outing a Student Online

It is the first day of the semester, and Blake is attending a required class on health policy that is held virtually. The call is being recorded so it can be posted on the course page following the class. During the session, Professor Smith asks each student in the class to introduce themselves with their name, pronouns, and academic program. Blake is wearing a necklace with beads in the rainbow colours of the pride flag. The professor draws everyone’s attention to the necklace and asks Blake to share their experiences with gender and sexual identity. Blake’s face flushes as they say, “That is quite a personal and sensitive topic for me. I’m not comfortable going into detail about it.” The professor presses, “Sharing your lived experiences would really help your non-LGBTQ+ classmates design social programs that are informed and effective for other people like you.” Blake shakes their head in refusal. Professor Smith expresses disdain for the hypervisibility of rainbow symbols and says LGBTQ+ people are merely attention-seeking.

Scenario Discussion Questions

Questions and considerations to guide participants’ discussions are found on slide 25 and below.

1. The type of boundary violation and possible feelings it could bring up for the impacted person
2. The identities of the people involved including their positionalities, roles within the institution, and the power dynamics between the people. (How power dynamics may influence the impacted person’s decision to respond and the type of response)
3. The various types of responses that the impacted person may take
4. The role the environment plays in the interaction and response. Consider if the interaction is in a private or public setting, on campus or off campus, in person or online
5. The culture within the institution, graduate program, and field of study

Your Institution’s Sexualized Violence Policy and Procedures

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, ensure that you have the most up-to-date version of your institution’s policy. The policies at all B.C. public post-secondary institutions are on the Government of British Columbia’s Safe Campuses BC website. Every institution has different definitions of sexualized violence 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 post-secondary 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 sexualized violence in having control and autonomy over their options related to making a disclosure, making a report, and accessing support, accommodations, and other resources.

As well, you may want to learn more about your institution’s protocols and procedures related to sexualized violence. These protocols and procedures will describe the roles and responsibilities of various departments, services, staff and faculty following a disclosure of sexualized 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 participants might have.

Post-Secondary and Community Resources and Supports

Collaborating with groups and organizations at your post-secondary institution 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 sexualized violence prevention and response, and opportunities for co-hosting training events with a greater diversity of facilitators and guest speakers (such as community support workers or Elders). Some  groups you could collaborate with 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
• Indigenous people and communities (see First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Considerations in the next section)
• Community-based organizations such as multicultural organizations that serve diverse populations and provide support related to sexualized violence
• Victim services programs
• 2SLGBTQIA+ specific resources (e.g., pride groups)
• Campus security
• Hospital and community-based health services
• Institutional representatives from senior administration

Building relationships with a variety of student groups can be one of the most important ways of enhancing your training. This can include First Nations, Métis, and Inuit students, international students, students with disabilities, 2SLGBTQIA+ 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 training to increase participation, and barriers to accessing supports and services.

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

Territory Acknowledgement

As educators and scholars, we are uniquely positioned to influence positive change, foster more profound understanding, and contribute directly to ongoing reconciliation actions between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in our country. The need to personalize territory acknowledgements is critical to understanding them. This goes beyond the mere formality to recognize the traditional stewards of the land, as well as the rich history, strength, resilience, and joy in the stories of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities, and the value of their continued contributions to host us in this place.

Traditional territory acknowledgements have become common at the beginning of meetings, events, and gatherings. They serve as an essential step in recognizing the Indigenous people whose land we reside on as guests, and territory acknowledgements have the potential to be a powerful tool for raising awareness and promoting reconciliation. However, as educators, we can take these acknowledgements to a higher level by personalizing them to reflect the rich historical context and the lived experiences and contributions of Indigenous communities in our region. Recognizing that each community member and Indigenous group (First Nations, Métis, and Inuit) will have their own unique identity, perspective, and contributions, each has had their experience with the traumatic impacts of colonization, lack of consent, and sexualized violence.

Creating a personalized territory acknowledgement is a collaborative effort that involves consulting with local Indigenous communities, Elders, and Knowledge Keepers and should respect Indigenous protocols and ensure cultural accuracy and respect.

Giving Back to First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Communities

While territory acknowledgements are necessary, they also fail to provide any material support or resources to First Nations, Métis, and Inuit groups.

To move beyond the token performance that territory acknowledgements can represent, consider ways that you can learn more about the First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities whose territory you are on and ways you can become involved and give back to the community. Learn about your post-secondary institution’s strategic plan and commitments and get involved with reconciliation efforts. Learn from Elders but also do your own research to learn about local groups and approach them with humility and patience.

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, not as an addendum, but as equal and valuable perspectives. 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 institution, consider how and in what ways you might make First Nations, Métis, and Inuit content foundational to your approach. Examples of how you might include an understanding of Indigenous ways of knowing and being:

• Incorporate First Nations, Métis, and Inuit pedagogical approaches such as holistic and relational perspectives, experiential learning, place-based learning, and intergenerational learning
• Involve First Nations, Métis, and Inuit students, faculty, and staff with reviewing, adapting, and evaluating resources
• Seek permission to integrate First Nations, Métis, and Inuit teachings and protocols from communities local to your institution

For example, the Wellness Wheel (see Appendix 1, handout 2) provides participants with the opportunity to consider their health and wellness with a holistic lens. The wheel encourages participants to assess various areas of their lives and consider how community can be vital to their wellness. Additionally, the Wellness Wheel supports a relational-based approach to teaching by reminding instructors that their learners have a multitude of needs, in addition to a traditional Western focus on academic achievement.

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 First Nations, Métis, and Inuit groups, 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 First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities and help them to meet their goals?
• Will there be benefits for First Nations, Métis, and Inuit students, faculty, and staff?
• Have the community or communities identified their own priorities or goals related to this work?
• How can this work support efforts related to healing from past and ongoing colonial and sexualized violence?

Elders and Knowledge Keepers

Elders have always been the foundation for emotional, social, intellectual, physical, and spiritual guidance for Indigenous communities. As you find ways to naturalize Indigenous contexts, perspectives, and traditional ways of being in your training, consider inviting an Elder or Knowledge Keeper from your local community to support your sessions. One way of doing this is to speak with your Indigenous student services department at your institution and share with them some of the recommendations in this guide and see how they might wish to support this work. Not all institutions will have an Elder-in-Residence, but each should have ways for you to contract an Elder or Knowledge Keeper to come in and support your work. Elders and Knowledge Keepers often support the whole post-secondary institution community, not just the Indigenous students. Involving Elders and Knowledge Keepers can help support reconciliation by helping to build respectful, reciprocal relationships that are deep and meaningful. Whenever you plan to bring in a community member, Elder, or Knowledge Keeper, it is important to plan for the honorarium required to remunerate them for their time and sharing their lifetime of wisdom and traditional teachings. In many communities, it is most respectful to offer payment on par with what you would pay a PhD holder to do a keynote presentation. However, consulting with the Indigenous services staff at your institution on what the typical amount is for this type of event is also a good practice.

In 2022, there were over 800,000 international students in Canada at all levels of study, which was a 31% increase from 2021 (Canadian Bureau for International Education, 2023). B.C. has the second largest international student population next to Ontario, followed by Quebec.

International students may be at significantly increased risk of being targeted for sexualized violence and may face unique barriers to reporting and accessing support. 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 international students. International students who experience or who are impacted by sexualized violence are significantly less likely than Canadian students 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 myths about rape and sexualized violence differ from one culture to another (Bonistall Postel, 2017). Thus, international students might have difficulty identifying sexualized violence and responding to disclosures of sexualized violence. It is important for post-secondary institutions to play a role in equipping international students with knowledge on how to best respond, support, and advocate for their peers in an appropriate and sensitive manner that does not further traumatize the survivor.

It is important to highlight that international students are not weak or vulnerable; rather they are resilient and determined to thrive and establish a sense of home, whether temporary or long term, in Canada. It takes positive determination to leave the safety of family, financial stability, and social network. Once in Canada, they may face additional challenges from within their own ethno-specific community while also possibly experiencing feelings of anxiety caused by the changes and separation from people and places they know.

Post-secondary institutions should involve international students in the development and implementation of training on sexualized 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 relevant safety resources, including community organizations and groups, translated materials, and supports. Post-secondary institutions can build partnerships with organizations that provide support to international students. These organizations can often share resources, such as safety booklets, infographics, and educational materials (see, for example, the International Student Safety Guide developed by MOSAIC).

As a facilitator, there are several strategies you can use to ensure the inclusion and participation of international students in this and other workshops:

• Consider language barriers. If possible, use translated materials and slow down the pace as you go through complex material.
• Learn about translated sexualized 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 sexualized violence if male students are present.
• Be aware of community resources and supports available to international students so that you can share them with participants 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 support international students if needed.

The concept of social positionality, or just positionality, 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 positionality depends on a combination of categories or attributes such as Indigeneity, gender identity/expression, race, age, ability, immigration status, class background, language, sexual orientation, employment, and religion, among other factors. All of these elements are constantly interacting which makes positionality unique to each individual (Ontario Association of Interval and Transition Houses, 2018).

Positionality is important because it strongly influences our identity or sense of self, how we see the world, how we relate to others, and how others relate to us. When it comes to the topic of sexualized violence, we all have different experiences, values, beliefs, attitudes, strengths, and vulnerabilities. It can be helpful to try to understand your positionality to be able to facilitate across all these differences.

Here are some questions to help with that process:

• What is your positionality relative to the participants in the session?
• Based on your positionality, in what ways are you able to and unable to relate to the experiences of the participants?
• In what ways do you experience privilege? (You can think of privilege as an advantage that you have because you belong to a certain group, such as 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 positionality, do you experience oppression? (A simple way of understanding oppression is to see it as a lack of privilege or the presence of disadvantages from belonging to a certain group. Keep in mind that multiple factors affect our positionality 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 positionality affects your approach to education and the way you work with people?
• How do you think your positionality affects your approach to the topic of sexualized violence?

For some Indigenous people, it may be a common practice to identify their communities and family relations when introducing themselves. This is a way to connect with other Indigenous people in the room and honour ancestral ties to land and family. Similarly, facilitators with settler backgrounds may choose to share some of their lineage and family roles. For example, “I am a third-generation settler Canadian, with Ukrainian and English roots. I am also a father, son, and partner.” Statements like this can demonstrate the multiple selves that bring us to this important work.

Facilitating across differences means being grounded in an awareness of your own positionality. As a facilitator, you will want to recognize the diverse positionalities of participants and value the knowledge and experience participants bring with them. At a practical level, this understanding can help you raise issues related to sexualized violence in a way that will create a safer space for all learners. An awareness of your own positionality allows you to engage in conversations about how positionality influences experiences of sexualized violence and provides a foundation for unpacking assumptions, championing new ideas, and promoting values central to creating safer campuses.

Disclosing Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

Your sexual orientation and gender identity are important points of reflection as a facilitator. If you can and feel safe doing so, disclosing your sexual orientation and gender identity in a way that is thoughtful and respectful may help in creating a safe space for gender and sexual minorities by signalling that you are aware of your positionality. Be precise in your language. For example: “I am a straight, cisgender woman who is neurodivergent, and I’m aware that the privileges and disadvantages associated with sexual orientation and gender identity mean that I experience the world in a very different way than some of you might” is more precise than saying “I’m a woman.”

If possible, there will ideally be co-facilitators from a range of positionalities that deliver training related to sexualized violence prevention and response. Having facilitators of diverse backgrounds is important in creating safer, inclusive, and welcoming learning environments for diverse learners.

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 queer people benefit from learning about sex and sexualized violence from facilitators who share their personal lived experiences.

This section provides definitions of key concepts related to sexualized violence.

Roots of Violence

There are many different theories and perspectives about what the causes of sexualized 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 sexualized violence and collectively find answers and solutions.

Linking Sexualized Violence and Gender Equity

Sexualized violence is linked to gender inequities in society. The lives, bodies, agency, and work of women, girls, transgender and gender-diverse people are devalued while those of men are overvalued. Devaluing leads to dehumanizing and objectifying; overvaluing leads to entitlement and the misuse of power. Together this forms an environment where sexualized violence perpetrated by men against women and people of diverse genders is normalized. One way to combat the pervasiveness of sexualized violence is to ensure the norms, systems, and institutions in our society are equitable for everyone.

The term rape culture was first coined in the 1970s in the United States by second-wave feminists, and the term is often used in sexualized violence prevention training in post-secondary institutions. Rape culture describes how sexualized violence is common in our society and how it is normalized, condoned, excused, or encouraged. Examples of rape culture include the public tolerance of sexualized harassment, the prevalence of sexualized 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 survivors of sexualized violence (Ending Violence Association of BC, 2016a). While there is a recognition that the term rape culture may not be the most useful or inclusive term, it is currently the most commonly used one to describe the suite of beliefs, values, and actions that allow sexualized violence to be so prevalent.

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

Image adapted from Simon Fraser University Sexual Violence Support and Prevention Office (SFU SVSPO, 2020). [Image description]

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 Canada’s legal, political, and economic context today. Sexualized violence and colonialism are interconnected through concepts such as self-determination, autonomy, and consent. Also, 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 colonial violence can help provide context to issues such as why many Indigenous women, girls, gender-diverse, and Two-Spirit people experience high rates of sexualized violence today and the systemic and historical barriers to Indigenous people reporting sexualized violence when it occurs.

Optional Colonial Violence Wheel Activity

If you are offering a longer session and would like to discuss colonial violence in more depth, consider using the Colonial Violence Wheel Activity.

The colonial violence wheel is a visual tool that can be used to help further discussion on the connections between colonial violence and sexualized 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 sexualized 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)?

Colonial Violence Wheel © Jewell Gillies (2021), Musgamgw Dzawada’enux. Used with permission under CC BY 4.0 License. [Image description]

The Colonial Violence Wheel Activity is available as a handout: Colonial Violence Wheel Activity handout [PDF].

Intersectionality

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

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

Optional Power Flower Activity

If you are offering a longer session and want to encourage participants to explore intersectionality, consider using the Power Flower Activity below.

The Power Flower Activity uses a visual tool to explore how our multiple identities combine to create the person we are. [Image description]

Instructions:

1. Each person fills out their own power flower, identifying different aspects of their own identities in a number of categories. (Colourful markers or paper are always a bonus!). As we all have many identities, you may want to start with:
   • Ethnicity
   • Sex
   • Gender identity
   • Sexual orientation
   • Class
   • Language
   • Ability
   • Family
   • Education
2. Feel free to customize this list based on the participants in your group.
3. As a group, reflect on the implications of being able to choose certain aspects of your identity and not others and explore why you might think about certain aspects of your identity more than others. How does thinking through these different categories affect your perspective of yourself? Note: Participants should not be required to share the results of their power flower during the discussion.
4. What kind of power do you have? In your own life? As a student, staff, or faculty member?
5. What are your strengths? What are your skills? What kind of knowledge do you hold? What resources and supports are available to you?
6. How might your power flower shape your experiences, knowledge, beliefs, and values about sexualized violence?

This Power Flower Activity is adapted from: Arnold, R., Burke, B., James, C., Martin, D., and Thomas, B. (1991). Educating for Change [PDF]. Toronto: Between the Lines.

The Power Flower Activity is available as a handout: Power Flower Activity handout [PDF].

Sex, Gender, and Gender Identity

Because the power dynamics of sex and gender are culturally created and enforced, addressing sex, gender, and gender identity in discussions about sexualized violence is essential. Gender can be a complex topic to discuss as there are many elements to consider such as identity, expression, and sex. Western understandings of sex, gender, and gender identity have evolved from a binary view (two options: male and female) to a spectrum that 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.

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. Below are some examples of language related to gender:

• Cisgender: Someone who identifies with the sex they were assigned at birth. Cis is a Latin prefix that means aligned with.
• Transgender: Someone whose gender identity differs from their sex assigned at birth. Trans is a Latin prefix that means across, beyond, or through. (Note: Use transgender and not transgendered as the term transgendered is outdated and seen as derogatory).
• Non-binary: Someone who identifies as having a gender outside of the male/ female binary.
• Two Spirit: A specific identity held by some Indigenous people living on Turtle Island (North America). Two-Spirit people may embody diverse sexualities, genders, gender expressions, and gender roles that differ from colonial understandings of sex and gender. They often hold special cultural, spiritual, or ceremonial roles among their people.
• Sex assigned at birth: The sex that an infant is assigned when they are born. It is based on the combination of hormones, chromosomes, and internal and external genitalia. The three most common options are female, male, and intersex.
• Gender identity: Someone’s personal understanding of their gender. It may or may not align with their body and gender expression.

Gender and 2SLGBTQIA+ 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, relationship structure(s) (e.g., monogamous, polyamorous) and marital or romantic status.

Because participants are likely to be diverse, it’s important to be respectful of the many ways they experience gender, attraction, and relationships. Sexualized 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 use instead of referring to their partner.

Likewise, using inclusive language will improve participants’ sense of safety. For example, “Good afternoon, everyone,” “Hello, folks,” and “See you all after the break” 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.” For decades this expression has been linked to domestic violence as a reference to the maximum width of stick a husband was permitted to beat his wife with. 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. If you refer to a cisgender male professor as “Dr. Last Name,” as a default, refer to all professors using Dr. It can be common for people to default to addressing male professors as Dr., while there is often hesitation to do so for women and gender-diverse professors, which mirrors society’s tendency to ascribe power, authority, and esteem to the knowledge held by men while questioning or devaluing the expertise of women and marginalized genders.

Don’t assume pronouns, sexual orientation (attraction), or gender identity based on someone’s name or appearance. Invite all participants, 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 for participants to indicate the language that will help them to feel acknowledged and respected. Be prepared to respond if cisgender people respond to pronoun check-ins in a flippant way (e.g., “Call me anything, I don’t care about pronouns,” or “We’re all people!” or “I don’t believe in pronouns.”) You can respond by saying, “Sometimes it can be hard to understand the importance of certain things when they don’t affect us directly. If this doesn’t feel important to you, ask yourself why that may be, and remember that it can still be important to others even if it feels unimportant to you.” If a participant doesn’t want to share their pronouns, they can just say “pass,” or ask that others refer to them by their name.

Examples of gender-inclusive language:

Language Resource

Inclusive language is continuing to evolve. Qmunity, B.C.’s Queer, Trans, and Two-Spirit Resource Centre has a resource called Queer Terminology from A to Q that is regularly updated.

If there is time and participants would like to discuss gender, consider using the Gender Unicorn shown below.

Optional Gender Unicorn Activity

The Gender Unicorn is a visual activity by Trans Student Educational Resources that allows learners to map out their own experiences of sex and gender. It is available in an interactive form, as a colouring book, and in different languages.

The Gender Unicorn © Trans Student Educational Resources (2015). It uses a Creative Commons License and can be shared as long as credit is given. [Image description]

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 & Barker, 2018).

Sexualized violence prevention and response training at post-secondary institutions will often explore ideas related to masculinity as a way of helping to shift societal ideas about masculinity and to centre new values related to inclusivity and diversity. These conversations can help highlight how sexualized violence harms women, girls, and people of all genders, including men and boys. Conversations about masculinity can also be an entry point for cisgender men to take a role in addressing sexualized violence in their community.

Image Descriptions

Sexualized Violence Pyramid image description

A pyramid representing different aspects of sexualized violence. As you go to higher levels of the pyramid, the degree of violence increases. These are the levels of the pyramid from the bottom to the top:

• Attitudes and beliefs: ableism, racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ageism
• Cultural microaggressions (subtle, intentional, or unintentional): social exclusion, misrepresentation, cultural invisibility
• Verbal expression: sexual harassment, making sexual jokes
• Physical expression: physical/sexual assault
• Homicide/suicide

[Return to image]

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 60s 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.

[Return to image]

Power Flower image description

A flower with two layers of petals. The word name is at the centre.

• The inner layer has six petals that show the words race, ability, education, sexual orientation, gender identity, spirituality/religion.
• The outer layer has six petals that show the words family, class, health, language, housing, age.

[Return to image]

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)

[Return to image]

There are many strategies and ideas for creating a training environment that helps people feel safe and respected while engaging with material that can be challenging or upsetting at times.

Creating Space

For sexualized violence training to be successful, learners need to feel comfortable, safe, and respected. As you prepare to facilitate, 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. Be sure to arrive early and as people enter the space (online or in-person), you can welcome them and help them get oriented. Before you start, share “housekeeping information,” such as where the bathrooms are, where they can put their things, or how to use online interactive features. 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. If you are offering this training over a longer period (two or more hours) you might consider doing a brief icebreaker activity with the participants.

Community or Group Guidelines

Community or group guidelines help participants understand how to interact and support each other. This training offers a list of group guidelines in slide 5. When introducing the group guidelines, ask participants if they feel comfortable with them and if they have something they would like to add or change. You could also ask participants to agree to a list of guidelines or a code of conduct when they register or sign-up for the training.

If you are offering a longer workshop (three or more hours) or offering the training over multiple sessions, you may have time to ask participants to create group guidelines together.

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, such as ensuring others’ confidentiality, not talking when others are speaking, not making rude comments, and not talking on the phone.

Examples of Community or Group Guidelines

Community guidelines come in all shapes and sizes. Some groups have a few guidelines while others have many. Often, groups will change or add guidelines as needs and ways of working together evolve. Here are suggestions of possible guidelines:

• Share the learning, not the names or the stories (confidentiality).
• Participants have the right to “pass” on activities or questions that feel uncomfortable.
• It is all right to feel uncomfortable or not to know the answers to everything.
• Treat others with respect.
• Be mindful of your language; respect everyone’s names and pronouns.
• Remember that survivors of sexualized violence may be present.
• Speak for yourself. Use “I statements” to state opinions or feelings.
• Seek to replace judgment with curiosity.
• Take care of yourself and offer care to others if you’re able to.
• Take space, make space (allow everyone a chance to participate).

Content Warnings

Content warnings (also called trigger warnings) are statements made before 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 choose 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 sexualized violence in this training. During the training, you can choose not to participate in certain activities or discussions 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 could 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 and whether they need a break. Let them know that you are aware that the content is difficult.
• Ask participants to be mindful of other learners during the discussion and remind them that survivors of sexualized violence are present in the room (regardless of whether this information has been shared with others).

Trauma Awareness

Experiences of trauma and violence are common in our society. Many people participating in sexualized violence training will have experiences of past or current trauma and many facilitators will have experiences of trauma themselves. As a facilitator, here are some possible signs to watch for that may indicate that you, your co-facilitator, or a participant(s) may be having a trauma response:

• Sweating
• Change in breathing (breathing quickly or holding breath)
• Muscle stiffness, difficulty relaxing
• Flood of strong emotions, such as anger or sadness
• Rapid heart rate
• Startle response, flinching
• Shaking
• Staring into the distance
• Becoming disconnected from present conversation, losing focus
• Inability to concentrate or respond to instructions
• Inability to speak

(BC Mental Health and Substance Use Services, 2013).

There are many strategies you can use to help create a trauma-aware learning space and to create a “workshop container” in which participants who experience a trauma response can regulate and hopefully come back into a state in which learning and engaging feels possible:

• At the beginning of the workshop, 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. 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 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-on-one after the session to check in and offer them any resources that you think might be helpful.
• During the workshop, if the conversation becomes intense or you believe some learners have become overwhelmed or affected by the discussion, take a break or use an activity that involves the body or movement to help people reconnect to the present moment.
• Sometimes, during training on sexualized violence, learners may realize that they have experienced things that are defined as violence. Before you start facilitating, you will want to ensure that you are knowledgeable about receiving disclosures and how to support trauma survivors as well as available support and resources at post-secondary institutions 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 support available for a short time after a training or initiative.
• Similarly, some learners may realize that they have done violent things to others. You may need to provide them with some initial support before referring them to post-secondary and community resources and services. It’s also worth noting that BCcampus offers a training guide, Accountability and Repairing Relationships: Training and Facilitation Guide, that can be used by post-secondary institutions for such occurrences.
• 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, share information about grounding activities or a link to a resource. Grounding activities are simple activities that can help people relax, stay present, and reconnect 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 two, 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 support person to speak with following the training. If so, help them make a plan to connect with their support person, (e.g., via phone or text or in person or at a certain time).

Questions to Promote Critical Thinking

Asking questions is a simple way to deepen discussion and promote critical thinking. We all make assumptions to arrive at opinions of how things are, what is important, and how things “should be.” Drawing out learners’ thoughts using critical questions can help you understand how to connect key concepts to learners’ 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 sexualized violence rather than teach people how not to engage in acts of sexualized violence toward others?
• Why do you think that sexualized violence is usually seen as a women’s issue? What responsibility do you think men might have in stopping sexualized violence? How are people of all genders impacted?

Responding to Common Myths About Sexualized Violence

There are many stereotypes, myths, and beliefs about sexualized violence that do not reflect what research evidence tells us about sexualized 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 sexualized violence.

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 a participant’s perspective, 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 about 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.

Creative Approaches to Learning About Sexualized Violence

Community-based and campus-based anti-violence programs and initiatives have a long history of developing innovative and creative approaches to support learners of all backgrounds. Facilitators of graduate student training identify the importance of applying a facilitation style that resonates with the specific student group to increase the relevancy and buy-in from participants. For example, visual resources may be preferable for visual arts students while using a whiteboard could be more appropriate for math students.

Below are a few suggestions for creative approaches to education on sexualized violence prevention and response. These types of creative approaches to facilitation require preplanning, significant facilitator experience, and additional time than this workshop has allotted.

• Digital or paper collage. Use images from popular culture, including films, books, TV, and music to explore stereotypes. Ask questions such as: Who are consistently the main characters? Who are the “heroes”? Who has power or whose life and decisions are considered important and valuable? Explore ideas about what is considered “normal” and acceptable in our society and how this affects our attitudes and beliefs about issues such as sexualized violence and consent and our roles in supporting change.
• Group sculpture. Use objects and movement to help learners visualize power dynamics in society. For example, you could ask several learners to use a water bottle and chair to create a group “sculpture” in which one of the objects is seen to be more powerful and then ask the audience to respond and share what they saw.
• Guided imagery. Read a story about the day-to-day experiences of a member of your community and ask learners to visualize themselves as that person. For example, you could ask a cisgender man to imagine taking the bus to class from the perspective of a cisgender woman.
• “I can help create a safer campus” bingo. Create a bingo game that includes suggestions of actions that individuals can take to support safer campuses. E.g., “I cannot laugh at sexist jokes,” “I can give active consent when I want to have sex,” or “I can say something when I hear disrespectful language.”
• Take-home readings and viewings. Some groups of learners may benefit from having shorter sessions spread out over a period of days or weeks. This can create opportunities for take-home activities such as reading a graphic novel, watching a documentary, or analyzing a spoken-word video with a reflection component.
• Interactive theatre or improv. Scenario-based activities are an effective approach to learning skills related to preventing and responding to sexualized violence. Interactive theatre and improv approaches can build on discussion-based approaches to scenarios. They can help learners gain experience rehearsing real-life situations and explore short- and long-term consequences. Techniques such as “hot seating” can be a way of exploring the motivations behind the actors’ actions and can help develop empathy and compassion.

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

Section 1 provides the opportunity for you to introduce yourself, give a territory acknowledgement, and provide a bit of background on the training, including the duration of the workshop and what participants can expect.

To establish a foundational relationship with participants, arrive early and greet participants as they enter the space. Be friendly and outgoing as you set up, making an effort to create an atmosphere of comfort.

Section 1 includes the following slides:

• Slide 1: Workshop Title
• Slide 2: Territory Acknowledgement
• Slide 3: Welcome and Introduction
• Slide 4: Session Objectives
• Slide 5: Group Guidelines

Slide 1

Facilitator Notes

• This workshop is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where noted. This means that content can be adapted to fit each institution’s specifics.
• This training has been adapted from Simon Fraser University’s Professional Boundaries for TAs and Navigating Power Dynamics and Boundaries as a Graduate Student by Possibility Seeds.

Slide 2

For slide 2, insert your post-secondary institution’s territory acknowledgement on this slide.

Facilitator Notes

• Elaborate on and personalize your territory acknowledgement.
• If you are comfortable, you could make connections between colonization (non-consensual theft of land and violence/devaluing of Indigenous people – particularly women, Two Spirit, and others who don’t align with colonial understandings of gender and sexuality) and sexualized violence (non-consensual sexual touch or behaviour that is often used to assert or maintain power and control over others).
• You may want to consider the possible experiences and impacts of colonial violence on different cultures or international students.
• For an online session, invite online participants to share their territory in the chat.
• Consider sharing native-land.ca.

Slide 3

Facilitator Notes

• Welcome participants and introduce yourself. Include your relevant experience and education and share why you chose to be a facilitator.
• Give your positionality, pronouns, and ethnic background, and take a minute to explain why your positionality is relevant, including why someone may wish to state their pronouns. (This helps ensure that each participant is addressed correctly; we cannot tell someone’s gender by observation and we should not make assumptions.)
• Note the duration of the workshop (approximately 90 minutes).

Slide 4

Facilitator Notes

• Share the following information to introduce the workshop:
  • This training provides foundational knowledge about sexualized violence in post-secondary settings with a specific focus on the culture, expectations, and environments graduate students may experience.
  • Graduate students occupy a unique space in post-secondary institutions, often simultaneously occupying multiple roles (e.g., student, teaching assistant, research assistant). This reality makes them uniquely positioned to occupy positions of power over others but also be subjected to others who have direct power over their academic and professional success.
  • This training provides the tools, resources, and strategies to support graduate students who experience or witness sexualized violence.
  • This training focuses on the power hierarchies that exist within academia, and how these lay the foundation for different forms of harm to occur and create barriers that make it challenging for people who have been harmed to access support.
  • Ultimately, this training encourages graduate students to become more aware of and work to change an existing academic culture where sexualized violence is normalized.

Slide 5

Facilitator Notes

• Briefly elaborate on each expectation, including the importance of mutual respect and confidentiality in the workshop:
  • Mutual respect and confidentiality are essential. What is shared in the workshop must not be shared outside of the workshop.
  • Take space, make space, or give everyone a chance to participate.
  • Participation is by choice but encouraged.
  • Respect lived experiences.
  • Take care of yourself and it’s okay to leave, if necessary.
• Elaborate on ways participants to take care of themselves during and after the workshop:
  • You are free to tune out or leave the room if you are feeling triggered. (Ask participants to signal that they are okay if they leave the room).
  • The content may be emotionally triggering, and some participants may have a delayed traumatic response (later in the day or subsequent days after the training).
  • The training provides self-care and professional resources.
  • Facilitators will be available after the training to debrief. Highlight confidentiality for participants who access support services or debrief with facilitators.
• Ask participants if they would like to add anything to this list.
• Optional: If you have the time, ask participants to introduce themselves by sharing their name, field of study or research, and one interesting thing about themselves.

Section 2 provides background information on sexualized violence including definitions, statistics, and impacts.

You may want to begin by referring to your post-secondary institution’s sexualized violence policy when discussing how we define sexualized violence. The focus of this section is on the cultural, institutional, and environmental factors that are unique to graduate students, influence the likelihood of sexualized violence occurring, and create barriers to a disclosure.

How much time you spend on this section will depend on the participants’ level of knowledge. Participants who have taken previous training in sexualized violence will be more familiar with the concepts and need less time. Other participants who are new to the concepts will require more time.

You could share Handout 1: Supporting Survivors of Sexualized Violence (see Appendix 1: Handouts) after the discussion on the impacts of sexualized violence (slide 11) or you could wait until later in the workshop, after slide 29.

Section 2 includes the following slides:

• Slide 6: How Do We Define Sexualized Violence?
• Slide 7: Sexualized Violence (Individual Level and Social Level)
• Slide 8: Sexualized Violence Pyramid
• Slide 9: Power and Sexualized Violence
• Slide 10: Impacts of Sexualized Violence
• Slide 11: Discussion: Impacts
• Slide 12: Sexualized Violence and Graduate Students
• Slide 13: Consent and Coercion
• Slide 14: Discussion: Power Hierarchies

Slide 6

Facilitator Notes

• Begin by reading the definition of sexualized violence from your post-secondary institution’s sexualized violence policy.
• Point out that many terms can be used to describe violence that is sexual in nature, such as sexual assault or sexual harassment. Tell participants:
  • In this workshop, we use the (umbrella) term sexualized violence as it includes all forms of violence that are sexual in nature: physical, emotional, psychological, spiritual, and financial.
  • As with all forms of violence, sexualized violence can range in severity, and different people will experience the impacts of sexualized violence in different ways.

Slide 7

Facilitator Notes

• Sexualized violence on the individual level constitutes a wide range of sexualized acts and behaviours that are unwanted, coerced, committed without consent, or forced either by physical or psychological means. It includes:
  • Sexual assault, which is any form of sexual contact without consent
  • Sexual harassment, which is any form of unwanted sexual attention or communication
  • Stalking behaviours, which involve repeated unwanted contact or communication
  • Any form of online sexualized violence, such as sharing intimate photos or videos without consent
• Sexualized violence on the social level encompasses the many attitudes, actions, and social norms that perpetuate and sustain environments where sexual assault and abuse are tolerated, accepted, and denied. This is also called rape culture.
• There is a recognition that the term rape culture may not be the most useful or inclusive term; however, it is currently the most commonly used one to describe the suite of beliefs, values, and actions that allow sexualized violence to be so prevalent.

Slide 8

Facilitator Notes

• The bottom of the pyramid shows common attitudes and behaviours, and the top of the pyramid shows some of the more highly recognized forms of sexualized violence. We may refer to some of these behaviours toward the bottom as boundary violations because they are not as easily recognized as acts of sexualized violence as those that are listed at the top of the pyramid. The behaviours on the bottom may not be as overt but can still cause harm and have an impact on those who are subjected to them (e.g., cause feelings of discomfort and violation).
• When the attitudes and behaviours at the bottom of the pyramid are normalized, this helps support the behaviours higher on the pyramid.
• There is a reason why the pyramid is broad at the bottom and narrows at the top, and that’s because everyday actions, words, and beliefs lay the foundation for physical acts of sexualized violence. These attitudes and beliefs at the bottom are what are commonly referred to as rape culture. Victim blaming and protecting perpetrators (both aspects of rape culture) occur throughout the actions at all levels of the pyramid.
• Many people participate, consciously or unconsciously, in actions at the bottom of the pyramid, but not all people escalate their behaviour into the realm of sexual assault.
• Physical expressions of violence can’t happen without the attitudes and beliefs that precede them – they are all connected.
• This pyramid does not suggest that the things at the bottom of the pyramid aren’t serious; these everyday experiences of sexualized violence can have a cumulative impact.
• It is important to differentiate between intent and impact. For example, while the intent of telling a misogynistic joke might be to get a laugh, it has the impact of normalizing that it is okay to devalue, disrespect, and degrade women and femininity, and in turn, creates a culture in which sexualized violence is seen as acceptable or justifiable.
• Sexualized violence is fundamentally about the impact that it has on survivors; not intending to cause harm is not an excuse.
• Optional: Ask participants if they can come up with examples of sexualized violence and where the behaviour would appear in the pyramid. Identify less recognized acts if the participants do not bring them up, such as shaming, bragging, body objectification, non-consensual disclosure of intimate images, leers, exposure, drugging, and stealthing (secret condom removal).

Slide 9

Facilitator Notes

• A common myth about sexualized violence is that it is motivated by sexual desire or attraction. The reality is that this is rarely the case. Rather, sexualized violence is an expression of power and often results from and reproduces power imbalances and inequities. We can think about this on both the individual and the social level too:
  • On the individual level, forcing unwanted contact or attention on another person always involves a dynamic of power and control.
  • People in positions of authority might abuse that authority to coerce someone they have power over.
  • People also commit sexualized violence because they feel a sense of entitlement, such as the belief that someone else owes them sex or that they have the right to someone else’s body or sexuality.
• In all these situations, the perpetrator disregards the needs, wants, and well-being of the other person to get what they want, while the survivor’s power and choice are taken away. This dynamic of power and dominance is at the root of all forms of sexualized violence.
• Sexualized violence can happen to anyone, but it does not impact all communities equally. Sexualized violence is disproportionately experienced by women and groups of people who experience different forms of social, economic, and political marginalization or oppression. Marginalized survivors often experience unique barriers to accessing support.
• Colonization and sexualized violence are interconnected, which has led to a reality in which Indigenous women, girls, and others who don’t align with colonial understandings of gender and sexuality are disproportionately impacted by sexualized violence.
• In a few slides we will discuss where power imbalances can be present for graduate students.

Slide 10

Facilitator Notes

• Sexualized violence is a traumatic event. There is a growing awareness about the impacts of trauma in various areas of a survivor’s life:
  • Psychological and emotional impacts include anxiety, terror, shock, shame, emotional numbness, disconnection, intrusive thoughts, helplessness and powerlessness, nightmares, depression, irritability and jumpiness, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), self-harm, suicidality, and substance abuse.
  • Physical impacts include injuries, fatigue/exhaustion, disrupted sleep, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), intestinal problems, sexual dysfunction, high-risk sexual behaviour, and unplanned pregnancy.
  • The potential professional and financial impacts of sexualized violence on graduate students are numerous, especially if a student has multiple roles within their post-secondary institution. Survivors may risk being ostracized from their field of study, require a leave of absence, need a change in supervisors or institution, or abandon their degree altogether. Financially, any of these impacts could be incredibly costly to a graduate student.

Slide 11

Facilitator Notes

• For the large group discussion, invite participants to read the question on the slide and share their thoughts with the large group. If facilitating online, ask participants to unmute and talk or put their comments in the chat.
• Participants may share the some of these professional impacts:
  • Decreased work or academic performance because of stress (e.g., lack of sleep, inability to focus on studies, avoiding work duties)
  • Deciding to drop out or leave one’s program because of the harm they’ve been subjected to
  • Compounding existing marginalization or feelings of isolation within one’s program or institution
• Arguably the stakes for experiencing sexualized violence and deciding what to do following an experience are highest for graduate students when the decision to take a leave of absence, change supervisors or institutions, or abandon their degree are incredibly costly, especially for students who are deeply linked to a specific institution, department, or field of study (Pescitelli, 2018).
• You could share Handout 1: Supporting Survivors of Sexualized Violence after this discussion (See Appendix 1: Handouts).

Important points to share with participants:

• These described impacts of sexualized violence are reactions we may see in ourselves or others who have experienced sexualized violence.
• However, there is no “correct way” to respond to trauma.
• People may be hesitant or unwilling to disclose sexualized violence.
• How we respond to a disclosure is very important and can impact a survivor’s emotional and psychological health.

Slide 12

Facilitator Notes

• Over the last several years, there has been increased attention and research on sexualized violence in post-secondary contexts.
• The statistics on this slide show the prevalence of sexualized violence for post-secondary students. (Burcyzcka, 2020; Ontario Women’s Directorate, 2013).
• The third statistic helps highlight the role that power often plays in boundary violations at post-secondary institutions (Peter & Stewart, 2019).
• It’s important to note that sexualized violence can happen to anyone. However, women are significantly more likely than men to experience sexualized violence and certain groups are more at risk of being targeted due to their intersecting social positions.
• Marginalized groups, including First Nations, Métis, and Inuit women, women with disabilities, and 2SLGBTQIA+ people, experience sexualized violence at higher rates.
• Indigenous women are almost three times as likely to experience violence (physical and/or sexual) than non-indigenous women (Brennan, 2011).

Slide 13

Facilitator Notes

• To help understand sexualized violence and its prevalence in the academic environment, it’s important to acknowledge both consent and coercion.
• Conversations about consent often focus on the legal definition. Consent is defined in Canada’s Criminal Code as the voluntary agreement to engage in a sexual activity. Consent must be affirmatively communicated through words or actions, and it must be ongoing and continuously discussed. Silence or passivity is not consent. It is also not consent if a person is impaired by drugs or alcohol.
• The problem with the legal definition of consent is that it doesn’t address context and assumes all relationships are neutral. A graduate student might say yes to meeting a friend for a drink. However, the dynamics are very different if that graduate student is invited to go for a drink with an instructor or advisor. When someone in a position of authority asks to meet a student for a drink, the student may feel like they can’t say no because they might experience negative consequences. These power hierarchies can consciously or even unconsciously impact our decision-making.
• Coercion can involve the use of threats or physical force but can also include using social norms and power relations to pressure someone to engage in sexual activity. For example, there may be after-hours events in your program that you are unable to attend, but declining an invitation could impact your career trajectory. The coercion does not have to be explicit to be coercion. Technically, you are consenting to go, but you are making that decision based on avoiding these negative consequences.
• Graduate students can have a lot at stake when deciding how to engage (or not engage) with those in direct positions of power over their academic and professional success. In the next slide, we will discuss examples of power dynamics and their relationship to sexualized violence in graduate school.

Slide 14

Facilitator Notes

• Certain institutional cultures and settings have environmental factors and power dynamics that set the stage for coercive behaviour.
• Tell participants that you’re going discuss how graduate studies and academic institutions, in general, can contribute to a culture where boundaries are not always respected.
•  Invite participants to read the questions on the slide and share their responses with the group. If facilitating online, ask participants to unmute and talk or put their comments in the chat.
• Note: If you have time, this activity works well as a small-group discussion (or as a breakout room discussion if online). Have participants work in small groups of no more than four. Give the small groups 10 minutes to brainstorm responses to the questions on the slide and then have the groups share with the large group.
• The details that emerge from this discussion may be specific to participants’ fields of study or programs. For example, students in engineering programs may note gender imbalances and a prevalence of sexualized language. Social work students may mention that they spend time doing research in isolated community environments. Encourage participants to reflect on experiences they have witnessed or heard about.

Participants may note the following:

• Power hierarchies (relationships): Participants may provide examples of the various roles graduate students can occupy, such as student, teaching assistant, research assistant, faculty, and member or leader of student groups. Discussion should focus on the various power hierarchies these relationships can produce (e.g., supervisors having power and authority over graduate students, or graduate students having power and authority over others). Discuss how this power can contribute to coercion directly or implied.
• Norms: Participants may note that graduate students are a diverse group of individuals. They may be working professionals or have children and other family responsibilities. They may have a close relationship with their supervisor, where socializing and drinking are normalized. They may be more isolated from campus life and often required to work off campus or in isolated spaces, or they could be supervised by community members in practicums and internship placements.
• Attitudes: Participants may talk about an unrealistic workload and culture of competition with little regard for work-life balance support. There is often a culture where sexualized violence is more likely to occur, and seasoned, tenured faculty have a sense of entitlement and credibility. A high value is placed on loyalty to the supervisor and institution (Students for Consent Culture Canada, 2021). The stakes for graduate students are arguably the highest if they decide to take a leave of absence, change supervisors or institutions, or abandon their degree. All are incredibly costly, especially for students who are deeply linked to a specific institution, department, or field of study (Pescitelli, 2018).
• Behaviours: Participants may discuss sexualized jokes, innuendo, objectification, and other foundational-level actions on the pyramid of sexualized violence.

This section introduces the concept of boundaries, including various types of boundaries and the role of context and personal choice when deciding what an individual is comfortable with. Participants are offered the opportunity to share (anonymously) some of their boundaries and are provided examples of response scripts to boundary violations. Finally, this section provides a practice scenario to unpack as a large group in preparation for the final small-group practice scenario. This section concludes with a discussion on self-care and a short break (if time permits).

You should emphasize that boundaries are a personal choice, and the context and power dynamics present during a boundary violation will influence how the impacted person chooses to respond, if at all. This section also presents an opportunity to reinforce that by addressing boundary violations, graduate students are actively working toward changing the historically predatory culture that can exist in graduate school. It may be helpful to refer to other concepts such as bystander intervention.

Before beginning this section, be sure to review the Scenarios so you can choose the practice scenario you want participants to discuss and then add the scenario to slide 24. There are more scenarios to choose from in Appendix 2: Additional Scenarios. Also have handout 2: Wellness Wheel (see Appendix 1: Handouts) ready to distribute when discussing slide 22.

Section 3 includes the following slides:

• Slide 15: What Are Boundaries?
• Slide 16: Boundaries Can Be…
• Slide 17: Boundaries Can Be Hard or Soft
• Slide 18: Healthy Boundaries
• Slide 19: Responding to Boundary Violations
• Slide 20: Tips for Setting Boundaries
• Slide 21: Self-Care
• Slide 22: Wellness Strategies
• Slide 23: Addressing a Boundary Violation
• Slide 24: Activity: Practice Scenario
• Slide 25: Activity: Practice Scenario Discussion
• Slide 26: Break Time

Slide 15

Facilitator Notes

• We’ve talked a bit about boundary violations and what they look like, but now we’re going to really dive into it.
• If at any point you find the discussions difficult or overwhelming, do whatever you need to feel grounded and centred. This might include leaving the room. If you do leave but you don’t want us to check on you, please just give us a thumbs up.
• A boundary is a guideline or limit that a person creates about reasonable, acceptable, and safer ways to engage with and act toward them, as well as expectations for how they will respond when someone pushes or passes those limits.
• Boundaries create physical and emotional space; they demonstrate how you want to be treated, what is okay, and what is not.
• Setting boundaries can feel really hard. There is not a lot of education or healthy examples on the importance of boundaries, how to set them, or even what they are! It is important to remember that your needs matter and that you deserve to have your boundaries respected. Boundaries are a healthy part of all relationships, and communicating your own needs and expectations is an important skill that can be learned and practised.

Slide 16

Facilitator Notes

• Physical boundaries refer to your personal space, privacy, and body. What types of touch are you open to and from whom?
• Mental boundaries refer to your thoughts, opinions, and values. What types of conversations are you willing to engage in?
• Emotional boundaries refer to knowing your own feelings and your responsibilities to yourself and others. A key component of healthy emotional boundaries is separating your emotions and responsibility for them from someone else’s. How much emotional support are you able to offer a loved one?
• Sexual boundaries refer to your comfort with sexual touch and determining sexual activity: what, where, when, and with whom.
• Professional boundaries refer to your expectations for your time, the environment, and the interpersonal relationships in your professional role(s). Your professional boundaries help you dictate when and where you will work, what type of touch is appropriate (if any), and what type of language should be used in the workplace. As we’ve discussed, navigating professional boundaries can be tricky due to the multiple roles that graduate students may hold. Further, academia doesn’t always encourage this type of boundary setting. Some examples of professional boundaries that graduate students may have to navigate are:
  • Receiving emails on evenings or weekends and with the expectation that you’ll respond immediately
  • Attending post-secondary and departmental social activities, such as wine and cheese mixers where drinking is the norm
  • Being asked to stay and work late (the idea that longer hours means you’re more committed academic)

Slide 17

Facilitator Notes

• Boundaries are personal to each of us, and we can also have both hard and soft boundaries. A hard boundary is something we can never accept or do. A soft boundary is something we find unpleasant, but we may be able to accept in certain circumstances or for a limited time. For example, you may have a boundary that you will not check your email after work hours, you will make an exception to this boundary when there is an important upcoming deadline.
• What we decide to set as hard or soft boundaries is individual and deeply personal to each of us.
• Cultural context: Even though there are different norms within specific cultures, we should never treat any culture as a monolith and assume that everyone within a culture acts the same way or has the same boundaries. For example, it is a norm in some European cultures to give another person one or two kisses on the cheek as a greeting, but that doesn’t mean that every European person is comfortable with this or that you have to respect that tradition if you are not comfortable with it. We should also remember that cultures shift and change over time, and all people of all genders and backgrounds can challenge norms. We can support and uplift those voices.
• Given that boundaries vary from person to person or culture to culture, it is important to practise communicating our boundaries to others and asking others about their boundaries. This can be difficult since we are not really taught or even encouraged to do this, but we’re going to practise this together later in the workshop.

Optional Large Group Discussion: Ask participants who are comfortable to share one of their hard or soft boundaries. Alternatively, you could use a polling app like Mentimeter to maintain participants’ anonymity.

Slide 18

Facilitator Notes

• You have the right to your own boundaries: You can set boundaries around your personal space, sexuality, emotions, thoughts, possessions, time and energy, culture and religion, ethics, and anything else you determine is important. Setting boundaries can help improve relationships and self-esteem, conserve emotional energy, give you agency, and give you space to learn and grow.
• Boundaries are learned: Women (as well as transgender and non-binary people) are often taught that their needs are less important and that other people’s needs should be put first. They are often taught that they do not have a right to boundaries and that setting boundaries makes them a bad person, unreasonable, mean, or bossy. It can feel challenging to unlearn this, but it is so important to remember that your needs and feelings matter.
• Automatic responses: There is no one correct way to respond to a boundary violation; the way you respond to being targeted is not always a conscious decision. Trauma responses like fight, flight, freeze, and fawn are how your brain and body protect you. Research on trauma shows that these responses may not be conscious choices, and your brain is making a split-second decision. These reactions are our mind’s way of keeping us safe in the situation.
• Exploring your own boundaries is important and can be fun: We use the word exploring because your boundaries might change over time or in different contexts. There also might be times when you think that you are okay with a certain behaviour or relationship but later realize that you cannot continue to accept this behaviour or relationship without harm to your physical, mental, or emotional health. You have a right to change your mind and change your boundaries. Remember: Your boundaries are personal to you; therefore, it’s good practice to ask about someone’s boundaries rather than making assumptions.

Slide 19

Facilitator Notes

• We’ve talked a lot about boundaries and what they mean. Now we want to spend some time on language you can use when your boundaries are violated.
• Having and setting boundaries is not selfish; it is a brave act of love toward yourself. When setting boundaries, you do not have to defend, debate, or explain your feelings. You can use simple and direct language, and back up your boundary with action.

Slide 20

Facilitator Notes

• Again, setting boundaries can be hard, but with practise, it can feel really empowering! Here are some helpful tips to keep in mind.
  • Practise tuning into your inner sense of yes and no. This will help you to determine what your personal limits and guidelines are. Ask yourself: What are my rights? What are my values? What is my gut feeling telling me? Do I need to respond at this moment or wait for a different time?
  • Trust your body. If you’re taking a minute to listen to your gut, believe what it is telling you. Often, we can feel discomfort in our bodies. Does your chest feel tight? Is your heart beating fast? Do you feel tension in your head?
  • Use simple and direct language. Be confident about your “no” and be clear about your “yes.”
  • Back up your boundary with action. Document any violations when they are happening. Change classes or supervisors if these options are available to you and necessary.
  • Practise self-care. You did a brave thing! It’s important to consider your own well-being. Wellness and self-care strategies are discussed in the upcoming slides.

Remind participants that even if you do all of these things, someone who is intent on crossing your boundaries may continue to do so. It is not your fault. You have a right to set boundaries and a right to expect that your boundaries be respected.

Slide 21

Facilitator Notes

• Refer to Handout 2: Wellness Wheel (see Appendix 1: Handouts). 
• This Wellness Wheel helps you consider wellness as a sense of balance between the various domains of the self: physical, emotional, academic/career, social, creative, spiritual, environmental, financial, and intellectual. This Wellness Wheel aligns with Indigenous traditional practices that view individuals holistically.
• If time permits participants and facilitators can share various ways that they practise self-care in their personal lives.

Slide 22

Facilitator Notes

Wellness strategies are unique to each individual, but this slide shows some common ones. In a few slides, we will also discuss resources at our post-secondary institution and in the community.

You can focus on the need for individuals to self-monitor and prioritize their own wellness through activities they know to be effective for themselves.

Slide 23

Facilitator Notes

• We are going to discuss an example of a boundary violation scenario together.

Slide 24

Facilitator Notes

• Note: Prior to delivery, you should select a practice scenario (see Scenarios) or have participants create one of their own (see Appendix 3: Create Your Own Scenarios). Choose a scenario that is relevant to the participant group. Copy scenario text into slide 24 or create and distribute a handout of the scenarios to participants.
• Invite participants to read the scenario. Remind that to consider the individuals involved and their power dynamics, the environment in which this scenario is occurring, and possible responses.

Slide 25

Facilitator Notes

• After participants have read the scenario, in a large group discuss the following:
  1. The type of boundary violation and possible feelings it could bring up for the impacted person
  2. The identities of the people involved including their positionalities, roles within the institution, and the power dynamics between the people. (How power dynamics may influence the impacted person’s decision to respond and the type of response)
  3. The various types of responses that the impacted person may take
  4. The role the environment plays in the interaction and response. Consider if the interaction is in a private or public setting, on campus or off campus, in person or online
  5. The culture within the institution, graduate program, and field of study
• Communicate to participants that this discussion is not about right or wrong answers but about fully exploring the scenario and context.

Slide 26

This final section of the training consists of a brief review of the concepts covered so far, sexualized violence resources at your institution and in your community, and the final practice scenario activity.

The amount of time remaining in your session will influence how much time you are able to provide the participants to discuss the scenarios. At a minimum, participants should be given 15 minutes for the small-group discussion (breakout rooms if delivering online) to fully unpack the scenario and record their thoughts. You may wish to forgo the review (slide 27) if you are running short on time.

Before beginning this section, be sure to populate the List of Supports slide (slide 29) with the sexualized violence resources at your post-secondary institution and in your community. You can also update handout 1 (see Appendix 1: Handouts) with your institution and community resources and be prepared to share with participants if you haven’t already shared it.

Also review the Scenarios so you can choose the scenario(s) you want participants to discuss and then add the scenarios to slide 31. There are also additional scenarios to choose from in Appendix 2: Additional Scenarios. Alternatively, if you have extra time, you can have participants create their own scenarios. (See Appendix 3: Create Your Own Scenarios for more information). After the small-group discussions, share handout 3: Scenarios with Suggested Responses (see Appendix 1: Handouts) with participants.

Section 4 includes the following slides:

• Slide 27: Let’s Review Key Concepts (Optional)
• Slide 28: Institutional and Community Supports
• Slide 29: List of Supports
• Slide 30: Activity: Scenarios
• Slide 31: Small Group Activity: Scenario
• Slide 32: Small Group Activity Debrief
• Slide 33: Wrapping Up
• Slide 34: Thank You for Participating
• Slides 35 and 36: References

Slide 27 – Optional

Facilitator Notes

• If there is time, you can review some of the key concepts discussed during the session. It’s unlikely there will be time within a two-hour presentation.
•  You could have a large group discussion by asking participants to define these terms in their own words:
  • Sexualized violence
  • Impacts of sexualized violence
  • Power
  • Consent
  • Coercion
  • Boundaries
• Prompt participants to recall the various types of sexualized violence and boundaries as well as both verbal and non-verbal responses. Add any pieces that were missed by participants.

Slide 28

• You could invite participants to share some ideas of supports for sexualized violence.

Slide 29

Note: Prior to offering the workshop, update this slide with supports at your post-secondary institution and in your community. It can include contact information for sexualized violence support services as well as counselling services, helplines, Indigenous student centres, and other services students might want to access.

Facilitator Notes

• This slide requires that you populate it prior to delivery. Include both the resource name and contact information.
• Institutional resources include counsellors, the sexualized violence prevention and response office, on-campus medical services, security services, the student union, and other support groups. Community resources include victim services, including VictimLinkBC, counsellors, hospitals and medical clinics, and the RCMP.
• You could add these resources to Handout 1: Supporting Survivors of Sexualized Violence (see Appendix 1: Handouts) prior to the workshop and share the handout with participants.

Slide 30

Facilitator Notes

• Prior to delivery, select a practice scenario or scenarios for the small groups to discuss. Choose scenarios that are relevant to the participant group. If you have just one scenario, you could display it on slide 31 (but avoid using a very small font to squeeze text onto one slide). It may be easier to create a handout with the scenario or scenarios. A handout can also be shared in the chat section if you are facilitating an online training. In an online session, copy the desired scenario(s) directly into the chat.
• Divide participants into groups of three or four. Depending on the number of groups and time constraints, it may be possible to review more than one scenario. Provide at least 15 minutes for groups to discuss. While groups are discussing the scenarios, walk around to check in. For online delivery, use breakout rooms.
• Introduce the scenarios activity:
  • We’ve spent time today looking at sexualized violence and boundary violations, and we will finish with an activity that will help us understand how structural factors like institution policies, graduate studies culture, and power dynamics, as well as individual factors and responses, can play a huge role in scenarios that involve boundary violations. This activity aims to bring together everything we’ve talked about today but also to imagine a future academia where we all feel safe.
  • Working in your small group, discuss the scenario provided. Consider the context of the situation, boundary violations, and possible responses. Instead of identifying right or wrong responses, take a conversational approach to this activity to explore the possible options. Have one person record your discussion so you can share your thoughts with the larger group.

Slide 31

Facilitator Notes

• As noted previously, you’ll need to choose a scenario(s) for this small-group activity (see Scenarios). If you are using only one scenario with the group, you may want to copy the text into this slide. If you are using multiple scenarios for this activity and providing handouts, you won’t need to use this slide.
• There are additional scenarios to choose from in Appendix 2: Additional Scenarios. Alternatively, if you have extra time, you can have participants create their own scenarios. (See Appendix 3: Create Your Own Scenarios for more information). After the small-group discussions, share handout 3: Scenarios with Suggested Responses (see Appendix 1: Handouts) with participants.

Slide 32

Facilitator Notes

• If time permits, ask a member from each group to share their discussion with the large group. Ask them to speak about their group’s process and the questions and suggestions they discussed. You can contribute any aspects that the participants may have missed, such as:
  • Individual factors:. The positions of privilege and power that students and faculty or staff hold and how the dynamics may influence the way someone will act and respond.
  • Environmental factors: Considerations related to the physical space, the people present, the time of day, and where the interaction takes place (private or public, on or off campus, in person or online). All these factors can impact how safe a student feels.
  • Cultural factors: The culture within the institution, graduate program, and field of study. This could include behavioural expectations that may be present with various student/faculty dynamics. It also includes some of the norms present in graduate programs, like competition, unrealistic expectations, normalized substance use in social gatherings, and a lack of work/life balance.
• Share Handout 3: Scenarios with Suggested Responses (see Appendix 1: Handouts)
• Discuss the various possible scripts or behaviours that can be used to address the boundary violation.
• Reflect on preventive measures that could be put in place to deter these boundary violations. Consider any role you could take to bring about these changes. Possibilities include:
  • Establish clear policies and procedures for handling inappropriate behaviour and harassment and ensure everyone knows their rights and how to report incidents.
  • Provide training and workshops for faculty and staff to raise awareness about power dynamics, consent, and the importance of maintaining professional boundaries.
  • Promote a culture of respect and empathy, where all members of the academic community are encouraged to speak up and support each other.
  • Create support networks and resources for students and staff who have experienced or witnessed inappropriate behaviour, ensuring that they have access to counselling and advocacy services.
  • Hold those in positions of power accountable for their actions, regardless of their academic status. This sends a clear message that such behaviour will not be tolerated.

Slide 33

Facilitator Notes

• Invite participants to share any key takeaways.
• Consider taking a moment to check in with the group. If necessary, consider doing a group grounding activity, such as taking a few deep breaths.
• Remind participants that you will be available after the workshop to debrief and answer any questions they may have.

Slide 34

Slides 35 and 36

Adamosky, R. (2015). B.C. international student survey: Final report. http://www.bccat.ca/pubs/ISSReport2015.pdf

Antoine, A., Mason, R., Mason, R., Palahicky, S., and Rodriguez, C. (2018). Pulling together: A guide for Indigenization of post-secondary institutions. A professional learning series. BCcampus. Retrieved from https://opentextbc.ca/indigenizationcurriculumdevelopers/

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Image Attributions for Slides

The images in the slides were adapted from Responding to Disclosures of Sexual Assault by AMS Student Society of UBC Vancouver, Sexual Assault Support Centre. It was shared under a Memorandum of Understanding with BCcampus to be adapted as an open education resource. All images are licensed under a CC BY 4.0 licence except where otherwise noted below.

• Slide 2, Territory Acknowledgement: Trees near a mountain and body of water during daytime by Tom Wheatley is licensed under an Unsplash License.
• Slide 6, How Do We Define Sexualized Violence?: Balloons clouds word clouds by geralt is licensed under a Pixabay Content License.
• Slide 8, Sexualized Violence Pyramid: Image adapted from Simon Fraser University Sexual Violence Support and Prevention Office (SFU SVSPO, 2020).
• Slide 12, Sexualized Violence and Graduate Students: Video conference online office by Shafin Protic is licensed under a Pixabay Content License.
• Slide 21, Self-Care: Wellness Wheel Handout, Capacity to Connect: Supporting Students’ Mental Health, © Jewell Gillies is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License.

• Handout 1: Supporting Survivors of Sexualized Violence: A Handout for Students, Faculty, and Staff [PDF]
• Handout 2: The Wellness Wheel [PDF]
• Handout 3: Scenarios with Suggested Responses [PDF]

Below are additional scenarios that facilitators can use for the scenario activities.

1 Student Makes Inappropriate Comments to Another Student

During the first day of summer class, Béatrice’s professor asks the class to form study groups that will meet for three hours a week for six weeks. As a first-year master’s student, Béatrice doesn’t know many other students and decides to create a study group with one of her friends, Nafissa, and another student, David. Nafissa and David are both in the second year of their PhD program and have the same thesis advisor as Béatrice. After the second study group meeting, as Béatrice and David are heading to the same bus stop, they decide to walk together. Mid-way through their journey, David starts making inappropriate and sexual remarks toward Béatrice; feeling very uncomfortable, Béatrice brushes him off by laughing and changes the subject. What are some possible responses Béatrice can make?

2 Professor Dismisses Student’s Experience of Sexual Harassment

Taylor, a graduate student, works as a teaching assistant (TA) for a public health course. Kendal, a student in the course, begins sending an excessive number of emails to Taylor. Eventually, Taylor asks Kendal to reduce their emails or seek assistance from the instructor about course-related questions. Kendal then starts staring and looking up and down at Taylor’s body when she is teaching the class. The staring makes Taylor feel violated. Taylor raises her concerns to the professor, who listens but then states that the attention is a compliment and should not distract from Taylor doing her job as a TA. What are some possible responses or actions that Taylor can take?

3 Undergrads Inappropriately Touch a TA

Onyx is an international graduate student in her first semester of their PhD and is working as a teaching assistant in a second-year chemistry laboratory class. In this lab, an undergrad named Kerry always asks Onyx for assistance but for his lab partner Quinn. While helping Quinn, Onyx notices that Kerry always stands really close to both of them. Initially, Onyx thinks Kerry is just observing Onyx’s explanations for Quinn, but on one occasion, Onyx notices that Quinn is trying to hide a laugh. When Onyx turns toward Kerry, Onyx notices Kerry sniffing and touching Onyx’s long hair. What are some ways that Onyx could respond or actions she could take?

4 Sexual Innuendo from a Research Supervisor at a Conference

Milo is a graduate student attending an international research conference. During the lunch break, Milo’s supervisor, Cyan, comes over to chat about the conference sessions. Milo isn’t sure when the conference dinner will end, so he asks Cyan, who responds, “Well, you can leave early if you are on your way to a hot date.” Later, at the conference, Milo wins an award as the best presenter among master’s students, and their teammates congratulate them at the community event that night. Cyan, who is at the event, chimes in, “It seems you have quite the oral skill,” emphasizing the word “oral” and winking at Milo.

5 Inappropriate Texts from a Professor

Ash, a graduate student, is taking a physics course taught by Dr. Martinez, a visiting scholar. Ash finds some of the course concepts challenging, so Ash goes to Dr. Martinez’s office and says, “The last assignment is quite challenging for me. I can’t seem to get it right. Can you help me understand what I’m doing wrong?” Dr. Martinez has another class so can’t help right then, but says, “Here’s my number. Send me a picture of your solution, and I’ll help.” Ash thanks Dr. Martinez and sends a picture of their work the next day. Dr. Martinez reviews the work and offers some assistance. The course finishes, but the day after the final exam, Ash receives a text from Dr. Martinez saying, “Good thing I got your number! Now that the course is over, I can finally ask you out.” Ash doesn’t respond and feels uncomfortable.

6 Supervisor Makes a Misogynistic Joke to a Student

Frankie is a first-year master’s degree student who recently suffered a head injury that left her feeling unwell. As a result of their illness, Frankie has been consistently arriving late to her engineering workshop, taught by Frankie’s supervisor, Dr. Cameron. Within the department, Dr. Cameron is notorious for making personal remarks to students during class. Today, Frankie approaches Dr. Cameron, saying, “Sorry for being late again today, Dr. Cameron. I was feeling sick the whole week. It won’t happen again.” Dr. Cameron replies, “No worries, it’s okay. I can easily understand engineering problems, but I’ll never be able to understand lady’s problems.” He starts laughing. Confused, Frankie asks, “Sorry, what do you mean by that?” Dr. Cameron responds loudly, “I mean your hormone imbalance.”

7 Student Sexually Harassed by Two Students at a Social Event

Rachel is a new graduate student in the department of Anthropology. As a part of welcome week, the graduate school organizes a barbecue with a music and dance evening on campus. Rachel is taking in the vibrant sights and boisterous music at the event when she’s startled to feel someone roughly grab her shoulder. She turns to see that it is a member of her class named William, who she hardly knows. His sentences are slurred, as he calls her abusive names. As he pushes himself nearer to her, he makes crude remarks about her appearance and body. He also tries to touch her inappropriately. She then sees Philip, a postdoctoral student whom she’d briefly met during welcome week. While she was expecting he would intervene, instead, he joined William in sexually harassing her. Rachel is in a shock response and feels helpless, threatened, scared, and unsafe. What are some options left for Rachel?

8 Inappropriate/Offensive Comments Made to a Graduate Student

Lisa is a first-year female doctoral student taking an online graduate course on methods in research. The course is open to all graduate students and is facilitated by a professor in the educational technology program that Lisa is in. After introductions, students are placed into online breakout groups based on their program area to share their project concepts. Because the course is small, only two students end up in Lisa’s breakout room. Dave is a master’s student in the same program and shares a thesis supervisor with Lisa. Dave is well-regarded by Dr. Robson—Lisa has heard him talk about Dave’s research. After some small talk, Lisa redirects them to the class discussion purpose by asking Dave if he has decided on a thesis topic. Dave replies: “Well, I haven’t decided. This is going to sound sexist, but, as that saying goes…there are so many pretty girls, how can you choose just one?” What are some of the possible impacts of an incident like this, and what are some possible responses and actions Lisa can take?

9 Supporting a Friend Who Has Experienced Sexualized Violence

Julie, a friendly graduate student in the science department, and her close friend Taylor, a physics graduate student, are talking privately when Julie shares an unsettling incident from the previous day at a coffee shop. While working on her teaching assistant duties, a male TA named John approached Julie. He appeared to be intoxicated and made a crude comment about her resembling his ex and, without warning, grabbed her in a sexual manner. Feeling uncomfortable and shocked, Julie pushed him away and left the situation. She’s unsure how to process what happened. How should Taylor respond to this disclosure and support Julie?

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?