Introduction
This resource was developed as part of a provincial project to develop open access resources to address sexual violence and misconduct at post-secondary institutions.
Active Bystander Intervention Training and Facilitator Guide: Preventing and Responding to Sexual Violence in B.C. Post-Secondary Institutions is one of four open educational resources now available for the B.C. post-secondary sector. These four components can serve as a foundation for a comprehensive educational strategy to provide students, faculty, and staff with the awareness, knowledge, and skills required to prevent and respond to sexual violence and misconduct and to create healthier and safer campuses for all.
| Training | Audience | Delivery | Length | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accountability and Repairing Relationships | Individuals who have been informed that they have caused harm in the context of sexual violence | One-on-one or small group facilitation | Four 60-90 minute sessions (minimum) | A series of educational sessions that guides learners through information and reflection activities that help them recognize the harm they have caused, learn how to be accountable, and develop the skills needed to build better relationships and support a safe and healthy campus. |
| Active Bystander Intervention | All faculty, students, and staff | Workshop | One 90 minute session | A workshop that focuses on the knowledge and skills needed to recognize and intervene in an incident of sexual violence. Uses the 4D’s Active Bystander Intervention Model. |
| Consent and Sexual Violence | All faculty, students, and staff | Workshop | One 90 minute session | A workshop that explores different understandings of consent, including the legal definition. Learners have the opportunity to develop skills related to asking for and giving consent in all relationships as well as discuss strategies for creating a “culture of consent” in campus communities. |
| Supporting Survivors | All faculty, students, and staff | Workshop | One 90 minute session | A workshop that helps learners respond supportively and effectively to disclosures of sexual violence. Includes a discussion of available supports and resources, the difference between disclosing and. reporting, and opportunities to practice skills for responding to disclosures. Uses the Listen, Believe, Support model. |
Background: The Sexual Violence and Misconduct Policy Act
In 2016, the B.C. Sexual Violence and Misconduct Policy Act was introduced, requiring all 25 B.C. public post-secondary institutions to develop policies to prevent and respond to sexual violence and misconduct. In 2017–2018, a government outreach campaign identified the need to increase access to quality training resources. While access to training resources is an issue for all institutions, it is a particular challenge for smaller institutions. The need for open access educational resources that could be adapted by individual post-secondary institutions was identified as an important part of increasing knowledge about sexual violence and system-level capacity building (BCcampus, 2019).
In 2019, a cross-sectoral sexual violence and misconduct training and resources working group was established to provide advice and identify priorities for the development of the resources. Over a two year period, the Working Group:
- Identified priority sexual violence and misconduct topics where training resources are needed. This included resources on consent, responding to disclosures, understanding the root causes of sexual violence, accountability and justice, and trauma-informed practice.
- Developed a toolkit for evaluating sexual violence training and resources to guide the selection of training resources that are gender-inclusive, survivor-centred, evidence-informed, decolonial, trauma-informed, intersectional, culturally located, and accessible for all users. (Download toolkit)
- With the support of external consultants, identified and reviewed sexual violence and misconduct training and educational materials from all 25 B.C. post-secondary institutions as well as community, provincial, and national organizations.
This training is part of a growing collection of open education resources for addressing sexual violence in BC. These resources are intended to be of use for staff, students, and faculty working in a range of contexts, including:
- Campus sexual violence centres
- Campus Indigenous groups
- Accessibility services
- Peer support workers
- Wellness programs
- International students and staff/faculty who work with them
- Student leaders
- Student organizations
- LGBTQ2SIA+ student groups
- Athletics and sports departments
- Fraternities and sororities
- Other groups that are working to prevent sexual violence on campus
How This Resource Was Developed
The resources for this project were developed, written, and reviewed collaboratively by a development team which included individuals with expertise in a wide range of areas, including sexual violence prevention and response, trauma-informed practice, adult education, equity and inclusion, Indigenous education, and community-based anti-violence programming and service delivery. Members of the Sexual Violence Training and Resources Working Group also reviewed the materials and provided feedback on how to tailor the materials to the post-secondary context.
Content specific to Indigenous considerations, working with international students, and gender & LGBTQ2SIA+ inclusion was reviewed and/or written by individuals with extensive experience in these areas. However, it is important to remember that these are areas where best practices are rapidly emerging and changing. We highly recommend that this resource be used as an introduction and foundation for addressing these topics in your work. As you adapt this training for your particular context, it is important to continue to build on the expertise and knowledge of students, staff, and faculty with experience in these areas and to develop an approach to training that reflects current issues, needs, language, and perspectives of these diverse groups within your institution and/or community.
How to Use This Resource
This resource includes two components:
- Slide deck. This includes slides with key presentation points and facilitator notes. The slides can be adapted to your institution as they include examples of where you can create a territory land acknowledgement specific to your context, update and include statistics, and share information about your institution’s sexual violence and misconduct policy and procedures.
- Facilitator Guide. This includes information to prepare facilitators to deliver training on the topic of sexual violence as well as suggestions for adapting, expanding, and modifying the training for different audiences and formats.
This resource is licensed under a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0 License) which means that you are free to share (copy, distribute, and transmit) and remix (adapt) this resource providing that you provide attribution to the original content creators. You can provide credit by using the attribution statement below.
Attribution statement
Active Bystander Intervention Training and Facilitator Guide: Preventing and Responding to Sexual Violence in B.C. Post-Secondary Institutions, Sexual Violence Training Development Team is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.
Key Principles
In December 2019, a Working Group of experts in the field of sexual violence met to discuss the development of sexual violence training and resources at post-secondary institutions in BC. The group included staff, students and faculty actively involved in sexual violence prevention and response activities at their respective institutions. Following the meeting, the Working Group met through an online community of practice to identify key principles central to development of training on sexual violence. These eight key principles have guided the development of this resource.
- Accessibility
- Culturally Located
- Decolonial Approach
- Evidence-Informed
- Gender-Inclusive
- Intersectionality
- Trauma-Informed
- Survivor-Centred
A full description of the principles can be found in Evaluating Sexualized Violence Training and Resources: A Toolkit for B.C. Post-Secondary Institutions (SVM Training and Resources Working Group, 2020).
