Education Offerings

Providing education to the University of Waterloo campus community is central to the work of the Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Office. Effective response to, and prevention of campus sexual violence necessitates active work towards building a protective campus environment that advances health promotion and consent – this can be mobilized through education.

We hope our education inventory can provide learning opportunities for all University of Waterloo members and inspire continued interest in addressing campus sexual violence through community learning, response, and action.

SVPRO offers four standardized offerings, including two trainings and two workshops, alongside workshops that are topic-specific. We also deliver custom workshops where exploratory content and skills-building are tailored to respond to needs that are specific to a department, faculty, campus, unit, or office.

In addition, we offer asynchronous, online education through Waterloo LEARN, Sexual Violence on Campus: Foundations for Prevention and Support, which serves as a primer on sexual violence and the role of SVPRO on campus.

To make a request for education with SVPRO, including a standardized offering, topic-specific workshop, or a custom workshop, please fill out our online form.

Kindly note that we require three weeks' notice to schedule and prepare education requests, and that all requests are fulfilled based on our office's capacity at any given time.

Below, we share our education inventory, including each offering’s title, description, key objectives, and target audience. To request an offering, please fill out the SVPRO Education Request Form.
 

Get to Know SVPRO
This session provides an overview of the Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Office (SVPRO) at the University of Waterloo, including our work in providing direct service support and education.

Key objectives

• Understand the role of the Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Office (SVPRO) on campus.
• Understand how SVPRO supports those impacted by sexual violence.
• Understand how SVPRO can support you.
• Learn about office offerings, including education, trainings, and awareness-raising events and initiatives.
• Learn how to make a referral to SVPRO. 
• Learn how to get in touch with SVPRO.

Audience(s): all University of Waterloo community members/any University of Waterloo campus group
 

Responding to Disclosures of Sexual Violence

A training designed to educate on best practices for supportively responding to disclosures of sexual violence, including building confidence in preparedness for response.

Key objectives

• Understand the definition of sexual violence.
• Unpack common sexual violence myths.
• Understand your roles and responsibilities under Policy 42, including knowing when your limits to confidentiality apply.
• Provide best practices for responding to a disclosure of sexual violence.
• Understand SVPRO’s role in supporting those impacted by sexual violence.

Audience(s): students, staff, faculty, student leaders

Preventing Sexual Violence through Active Bystander Intervention

A training designed to educate on sexual violence and equip campus community members with relevant knowledge and skills to intervene in a situation of harm, or where sexual violence is imminent.

Key objectives

• Understand and define harassment, sexual violence, and consent.
• Recognize the complex roots of these behaviours and how they are normalized.
• Identify personal obstacles and barriers to intervene safely and effectively.
• Learn how to safely and effectively apply the 5D Active Bystander Model.
• Recognize that everyone has a role in creating a safe, consensual, and caring campus community.

Audience(s): students, staff, faculty, student leaders

Policy 42 & You

A workshop focusing on the University of Waterloo’s Policy 42, Prevention of and Response to Sexual Violence, including understanding the jurisdiction and scope of policy and the institutional pathways for response that exist for survivors.

Key objectives

• Understand the definition of sexual violence.
• Distinguish between a disclosure, complaint, and report of sexual violence.
• Understand the jurisdiction and scope of Policy 42.
• Understand the different institutional pathways that exist for survivors who experience sexual violence on campus.
• Understand the formal complaint process under Policy 42.
• Understand your roles and responsibilities under Policy 42, including knowing when your limits to confidentiality apply.
• Understand SVPRO’s role in supporting those impacted by sexual violence.

Audience(s): staff, faculty, student leaders

Male Allies Workshop

A workshop for men-identifying students seeking to understand and practice male allyship. The objective of these workshops is to engage and encourage men, with their unique privilege and responsibility, to address systemic and everyday forms of gender-based and sexual violence.

Key objectives

Learning objectives:

• Understand how to address systemic and everyday forms of gender-based violence
• Recognize and understand what characterizes effective male allyship
• Understand how to practice male allyship and engage in alternative narratives of masculinity
• Recognize the complex roots of gender-based and sexual violence
• Understand how to identify and address privilege, gender stereotypes, biases, and existing systems of inequity.
• Encourage men to understand their unique and important role in shaping a safe and healthy campus community.

Audience(s): students, student-staff, staff, faculty

Sexual Violence on Campus: Foundations for Prevention and Support

SVPRO’s LEARN course includes a series of self-guided modules designed to educate about sexual violence and establish a baseline understanding of the subject area for all University of Waterloo members. 

Learning outcomes

• Recognize the importance of learning about sexual violence.
• Recognize the prevalence of sexual violence, including campus sexual violence.
• Understand the role of the Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Office (SVPRO) at the University of Waterloo.
• Recognize the systemic and marginalizing impacts of Canada’s colonial history on Indigenous peoples, including past and ongoing inflictions of violence.
• Understand the importance of self-care when learning about sexual violence, how to engage in self-care, and where to seek support on campus.
• Understand the definition of sexual violence as an umbrella term, including types and examples.
• Understand consent, recognize how rape culture normalizes sexual violence, and how to foster a consent culture.
• Understand common myths about sexual violence.
• Understand options available on campus for survivors of sexual violence.
• Recognize relevant University of Waterloo policies for responding to complaints of campus sexual violence.
• Understand limits to confidentiality, that is, circumstances under which information must be shared regarding a disclosure of campus sexual violence, under policy.

Audience(s): all University of Waterloo community members/any University of Waterloo campus group