More Than a Bystander Training

September 26, 2022 Fennell Campus, 9-12 noon, Room i204

October 17, 2022 Stoney Creek Campus, 9-12 noon, Room A104

We all share the responsibility for fostering and maintaining a campus environment free from discrimination and harassment, free from sexualized violence, and supportive of those who experience sexualized violence. One of the ways to achieve this aim is by being an upstander.

The training will equip you and your team with the skills and strategies to safely intervene in instances where someone is being discriminated against, harassed, or made to feel uncomfortable, either online or in-person. The training will help gain a deeper understanding of sexualized and gender-based violence (SGBV), increase your knowledge around types of gendered violence, sexual violence, and consent, and begin to build capacities for intervening in GBSV via learning about the bystander model.

This training will involve a mix of presentation and interactive discussions/activities to invite participants into conversation and reflection about these topics.

Participants will:

Be able to define and identify types of unacceptable norms and behaviours that sustain or perpetuate sexual and gender-based violence
Gain an understanding of the role and responsibility of a bystander
Enhance your skills in identifying risky and harmful situations where a bystander intervention may be appropriate
Have the opportunity to work through the bystander decision-making model.
Identify safe and effective strategies of intervention
Increase your empathy for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence
Gain knowledge of resources that are available to support bystanders and those who have been affected by sexual and gender-based violence

This session is hosted by Equity, Diversity and Inclusion and facilitated by Interval House Hamilton. In addition to the emergency shelter program, Interval House Hamilton offers community-based programs that provide counselling, peer support, legal advocacy, and system navigation.