*Please note that we are not accepting requests for workshops at this time. To attend an information session on Harassment, Discrimination, and Sexual Violence: McGill Policies, Reporting, and Support, academic and administrative staff can sign-up here and graduate students can register through SkillSets.

Workshops

As part of our educational initiatives, we offer workshops for students, faculty, and staff to raise awareness about sexual violence and consent and to provide tools and methods to equip people on how to interrupt potentially harmful situations and how to support survivors.

Students will have the opportunity to receive recognition on their co-curricular record. To learn more about our ongoing workshops and to register, visit myInvolvement. To request a workshop in your space, fill out the workshop request form, available here.

How to Respond to Disclosures

During this 2-hour interactive workshop, you will learn about the prevalence of sexual violence at universities and beyond and about the various impacts that sexual violence can have on a survivor and their support system. You will learn how to use the appropriate tools and approaches to support people affected by sexual violence. You will have the opportunity to practice your response skills through group activities and case scenarios. The workshop will also discuss common misconceptions about sexual violence that may affect one's ability to effectively respond to disclosures. You will learn about the different support resources available on campus and in the community. This workshop is available for all members of the McGill community.

For a list of upcoming workshops, please visit our myInvolvement page.

Becoming an Active Bystander

This 1.5-hour, peer-facilitated, interactive workshop is designed to teach participants to identify and interrupt potentially harmful situations and to respond compassionately to those affected by sexual violence. By working through scenarios and role-playing responses, participants will be able to build on their strengths and learn new techniques in order to become Active Bystanders. This workshop empowers community members to act responsibly and with accountability in order to reduce incidents of sexual violence.

At the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

  • Identify harmful social behaviors and situations along a continuum that perpetuates sexual violence

  • Draw on relevant techniques and strengths to interrupt potentially harmful situations

  • Effectively respond to and support a person affected by sexual violence

Please note that though this workshop was initially developed in collaboration with Student Services and Residence Life for students, and it can be adapted for faculty and staff.

What is a bystander?

A bystander is anyone who is a witness to an act or a situation but it not the person towards whom the act or situation is directed. The term refers to anyone who is in a position to intervene.

  • A Passive Bystander chooses not to interrupt or intervene. There are several reasons why someone would choose not to do anything. This could be due to external pressures, not knowing what to do, concern for personal safety, or an inability to recognise a situation as harmful.

  • An Active Bystander takes the initiative to help in situations of concern and makes a positive difference. There are three main opportunities for an Active Bystander to make a difference: before a situation unfolds (by educating peers, not conforming with harmful social norms, making sure friends are safe etc.), during a situation, or after a situation unfolds (by supporting the person[s] affected by the harmful act[s]).

For a list of upcoming workshops, please visit our myInvolvement page

Substance use and sex

Combining alcohol, substance and sex is a reality that many members of our community will navigate at some point in their university career. Using a harm-reduction and sex positive approach, this free  1.5 hour peer-facilitated workshop, provides participants with an understanding of how alcohol and substances affect the body and one’s ability to give and receive consent, how to engage in healthy sexual community, and debunk common misconceptions about sex and university life to create a healthier community at McGill.

Workshop objectives

Participants will be able to:

  • Understand consent: how it works (verbal, non verbal cues and the rules)

  • Understand the effects alcohol and alcohol has on the body

  • Understand how substance use and consent interact and they ways to check-in with one's self and others when under the influence

  • Understand how misconceptions (alcohol specific) perpetuate harm and hinder access to support/reporting

  • Practice healthy and effective communication when engaging in sexual activities

​Please note that though this workshop was initially developed in collaboration with Student Services and Residence Life for students, and it can be adapted upon request.

PGSS Certificate Program

Sexual Violence Response Training

The Office for Sexual Violence Response, Support and Education in collaboration with Daniel Almeida, Phd Canadidate in Neuroscience at McGill, have developed this free, psychoeducational program for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in the helping profession, engaged in peer support initiatives or who are passionate about supporting others. 

In alignment with trauma informed, intersectional, empowerment based approaches and violence prevention practices, this series of workshops strive to equip participants with the skills and tools required to effectively support people impacted by sexual & gender-based violence, trauma and suicide ideation.

Workshops include:

  • Understanding the Impacts of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence 
  • Suicide Awareness Workshop
  •  Becoming an Active Bystander Workshop 
  •  How to Respond to Disclosures & Practical Application 

​Participants interested in this program are encouraged to complete McGill's online training It Takes All of Us and attend McGill's Mental Health First Aid prior to attending the training in January.

Upon completion of the program, participants will receive a certificate from McGill’s Office for Sexual Violence Response, Support and Education (OSVRSE).

Upcoming dates to be determined

McGill is located on unceded lands which have traditionally served as a site of meeting and exchange amongst diverse indigenous peoples. The Kanien’kehá:ka, a founding nation of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, and the Anishinabeg are recognized as the traditional stewards of the lands and waters on which Tiohtià:ke/Montréal is located. Learn more about the land you’re on by following this link, and commit to taking action to support the ongoing resistance and thriving of local Indigenous communities.

  

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