Background

This training aims to teach learners both personal and social dimensions of sexual violence and consent. The delivery of this training should emphasize experiential learning as much as possible so that learners walk away with practical skills for building communities of consent. In order to address the issue of sexual violence on college campuses, holistic frameworks are important in order to promote collaborative and transformative learning (Khan, Rowe & Bidgood, 2019). Therefore, this training centres analysis of both the interpersonal and community factors that underpin survivor’s experiences of violence. Consent education that links individual experiences of violence to the forms of oppression that uphold sexual violence is critical in order to promote social change on post-secondary campuses (ACHA, 2015).

Facilitators are encouraged to adapt and connect this training to their specific campus contexts and explore how to offer this training in conjunction with other sexual violence supports on campus (Casey & Lindhorst, 2009). This training builds upon best practices for consent education on post-secondary campuses, including the use of statistics, break-away group discussions as well as the use of scenarios and “myth-busting” to engage learners. It is recommended that this training be strongly encouraged for all students and that it is offered in conjunction with trainings on bystander intervention, supporting survivors, and accountability & repairing relationships in order to equip learners with a comprehensive understanding of what is needed to address sexual violence (Gender & Policy Insights, 2018).

At the end of this workshop, learners should come away with an understanding of the role of colonialism in contributing to social norms that perpetuate sexual violence. This will include acknowledging the impacts of colonization on Indigenous peoples in Canada and exploring multiple dimensions of sexual violence and consent. Facilitators and learners will engage with how history, social forces and the law shape our experiences of sexual violence and our understandings of consent. Learners will have opportunities to reflect on consent within the communities they belong to and practice strategies for every day consent.