Training & Workshops
Request a Training
If you would like to request a training, please complete the Training Request Form.
Please note that, to ensure facilitator availability, we have rolling deadlines for requesting facilitated trainings. For requests for training that would take place outside our regular office hours, additional scheduling time may be needed.
Our Upcoming Deadlines
- March 31st, 2024, for May 2024 training
- April 30th, 2024, for June 2024 training
- May 31st, 2023, for July 2024 training
We will be offering virtual workshops through the Learning Management System (LMS) throughout 2023-2024, which all University employees have access to. Further information on these workshops is available in the table below.
We encourage all UofT students, staff, faculty and librarians across the tri-campuses to complete either the Online Sexual Violence Prevention Education Module (for staff, faculty, and librarians) or Building a Culture of Consent at the University of Toronto (for students).
Training Topics
Asynchronous & Online Trainings
Building a Culture of Consent Module for Students
Building a Culture of Consent at the University of Toronto: Consent, Communication, and Sexual Violence Prevention Education Module for Students is a new module intended to teach students about consent and how to incorporate the concept of consent into building healthy boundaries, communication, and consent practices within relationships. It is also intended to teach students about sexual violence, the landscape in which sexual violence occurs, and available on- and off-campus support services for survivors of sexual violence.
F.A.Q. for Students Living in Residence
Sexual Violence Education and Prevention Module For Employees
The Centre provides an online Sexual Violence Education and Prevention (SVEP) training for staff, faculty and librarians at the University. Completion is strongly encouraged and constitutes an important step toward creating a campus environment in which all members of the University community can study, work, and live free from sexual violence.
The training is designed to help members of the U of T community:
- Recognize sexual violence, including sexual harassment, as it is defined in the University’s Policy on Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment;
- Identify ways in which sexual violence affects members of the University community;
- Understand the difference between disclosing and reporting an incident of sexual violence as defined in the policy;
- Respond supportively to a disclosure of sexual violence; and
- Refer someone to the services of the University’s tri-campus Sexual Violence Prevention & Support Centre.
Synchronous Trainings (Online or In-Person)
Skills for Responding to Disclosures of Sexual Violence: Using a Trauma-Informed Approach (Staff/Faculty)
Audience: Staff, Faculty & Administrators
Length of Workshop: 90-120 minutes recommended
Workshop Description: This virtual workshop is a unique, interactive and comprehensive training which teaches participants to support a disclosure of sexual violence. This workshop empowers participants to manage a disclosure effectively using an empathetic and trauma-informed approach. Through role-play, discussions and story-telling, participants will come to learn the supportive steps in taking a disclosure. Participants will gain key concepts of the university’s Sexual Violence and Harassment Policy.
Learning Outcomes:
- Explain two reasons why you would reach out to the Sexual Violence Prevention and Support Centre at U of T
- Identify the key differences between a disclosure and a university report
- Discuss how colonization and interlocking systems of oppression relate to our understanding of sexual violence
- Understand responder and survivor intersectionality
- Identify steps in providing a supportive, trauma-informed response to a disclosure of sexual violence
- Describe two impacts that sexual trauma may have on someone’s academic and/or workplace success
Upcoming Workshops: February 7, 2024 (10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.)
*Pre-requisite Required: Please note that in order to attend this workshop, you must complete the Online Sexual Violence Prevention & Education Module. You can access the module and register for this workshop through the Learning Management System (LMS). You can access the module and registration information by searching for the ‘Sexual Violence Prevention & Response Program.’
Sexual Violence Disclosure Skills: For Student Leaders
Audience: Student Leaders & Residence Dons
Length of Workshop: 90-120 minutes recommended
Workshop Description: This virtual workshop provides participants with an interactive and practice-based virtual training for U of T student leaders on how to supportively respond to a disclosure of sexual violence. This workshop touches on the link between systemic oppression and sexual violence that can impact and create barriers for those impacted by sexual violence. Participants will gain supportive language, resources, and interventions techniques when receiving or witnessing sexual violence. By the end, participants are equipped with the knowledge, resources, and skills to support survivors when receiving a disclosure of sexual violence.
Learning Outcomes:
- Explain 2 reasons why someone would reach out to the Sexual Violence Prevention and Support Centre
- Identify the difference between a disclosure versus a report
- Discuss how systemic oppression relates to our understanding of sexual violence
- Understand power dynamics in context of a student leader’s role when receiving a disclosure
- Identify what a supportive response looks and feels like through the use of case a scenario
- Identify what an unsupportive response looks and feels like through the use of a case scenario
Upcoming Workshops: New dates for 2024 to be available soon
*Pre-requisite Required: Please note that in order to attend this workshop, you must complete the Online Sexual Violence Prevention & Education Module.
What is Harassment? Tools for Identifying and Addressing Racial and Sexual Harassment in the Workplace (2-part workshop, delivered in partnership with the Anti-Racism & Cultural Diversity Office)
Audience: Staff, Faculty & Administrators
Length of Workshop: 2 sessions, 120 minutes each
Workshop Description: In this virtual workshop series, participants will learn and apply the important skills by thoroughly addressing the elements of how to prevent unacceptable behavior. The workshop includes a detailed overview of sexual and racial harassment, explain key definitions. Participants will discusses sexual harassment prevention. Please note that this training requires 2 sessions which are each 120 minutes in length, and should be scheduled on two different days. It is recommended that the sessions be scheduled 1 week apart.
Learning Outcomes:
- Provide an overview of key race-related and sexual harassment terms and definitions outlined within the Ontario Human Rights Code.
- Identify manifestations of racial and sexual harassment and their impact on the individual and work environment.
- Explain institutional processes and the role of the Anti-Racism & Cultural Diversity Office and the Sexual Violence Prevention & Support Centre in responding to instances of racial and sexual harassment.
Building Consent Culture During Orientation & Beyond
Audience: Student Leaders & Undergraduate Students
Length of Workshop: 60-90 minutes recommended
Workshop Description: This virtual workshop provides an overview of key concepts of consent and promotes learning and guidelines towards building a consent culture on campus not limiting to only sexual context. Using role-play, discussions, and polls, the facilitators share tangible tools student leaders can use to recognize the role of consent as it relates to their social identity, talk about consent with peers, as well as intervene in situations where consent is not being upheld. The training also equips attendees with relevant resource information including the Centre’s role.
Learning Outcomes
- Describe 2 of the services offered by the SVPS Centre
- Discuss the principles of consent through role-play practice
- Identify 3 ways one can contribute a culture of consent on campus
- List 3 ways one can teach orientation leaders about consent
- Describe one way of talking to a peer about consent
- Recognize the role of consent in one’s everyday life and relationships
Training Resources & External Offerings
A Tool for Orientation Coordinators: Building a Culture of Consent Culture During Orientation
This PDF toolkit can be used to train Orientation Coordinators, and can be circulated both digitally and as a printed resource for in-person use.
Certificate: Responding to Disclosures of Sexual Violence on University and College Campuses (Online Program)
Responding to Disclosures of Sexual Violence on University and College Campuses in Ontario is developed by the Centre for Research & Education on Violence Against Women & Children. This training is designed to support all employees of universities and colleges in Ontario to respond supportively & effectively to disclosures of sexual violence.
This training includes 7 modules with video scenarios, practice quizzes and links to important resources to help you respond supportively and effectively to disclosures of sexual violence on campus. The practice quizzes test your knowledge and prepare you for the final quiz. The practice quizzes are not graded. If you fail a quiz you will have the chance to take it again. If you fail twice, you can then proceed through to the next practice quiz. There are unlimited chances to pass each practice quiz by simply refreshing your browser window and starting the quiz again. This is a large course and may take some time to load on your computer.
Learning Outcomes
- Respond supportively and effectively to disclosure of sexual violence
- Know where to seek tangible support and resources in your institution and communities
- Examine one’s own attitudes, behaviours and beliefs
- Learn about professional and institutional practices and initiatives in education around the province