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Workshops and Training

We Offer Workshops, Lectures, Training, Group Facilitation and Professional Development. We cover topics such as healthy masculinity, relationships, consent, addressing sexism and sexual violence culture, bystander intervention and more. Our engaging, interactive presentations are ideal for:

• Sports teams (Leading By Example sports program)
• Corporations (Raise the Bar corporate training program)
• Elementary and High School Classes
• Youth Groups
• Community Groups
• University and College Classes​​

Using a participatory approach, our workshops actively engage learners and spark meaningful conversations relevant to their lives and communities.
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Book A Workshop

If you’d like to request a workshop for your group, please fill out our booking form or email pubed@sascwr.org

Book a workshop

#RaiseTheBar Corporate Training

Looking to provide professional development for your staff team? The Sexual Assault Support Centre of Waterloo Region and Male Allies can provide an engaging, informative experience which will promote creating healthier and more inclusive spaces for all employees. All of the below workshops have elements of engagement through activities, discussions, and open question periods in order to provide the best possible outcomes for all attendees.

The #RaiseTheBar program, generously funded by the Department of Justice, can help you make violence prevention part of your organizational culture by providing your workplace with tools through training workshops that encourage more inclusive and equitable workplaces, a deeper understanding of sexual harassment policies/legalities, bystander intervention techniques, and what it means to be a Male Ally in the workplace.

Anyone who participates in your workplace culture is eligible for #RaiseTheBar training. This includes paid and unpaid workers, temporary workers, committee/board members, regular contractors, volunteers, students, management and owners, and so on.

These workshops provide an engaging, informative experience that can strengthen your workplace culture for people of all gender identities and sexual orientations. We also offer customized programming based on your industry and needs. Our workshop offerings are listed below. Please click the titles for details.

#RaiseTheBar 101 (click to expand)

How can we communicate thoughtfully and respectfully at work? Does workplace sexual harassment and gender discrimination still exist? In this engaging workshop, we will examine how different actions, behaviours, attitudes and beliefs contribute to healthy or unhealthy workplaces, such as unconscious biases. We will also learn an introduction to Bystander Intervention with examples to give us practice in positively intervening in potentially harmful situations.

Learning Outcomes:

• Participants will be able to recognize sexual harassment in the workplace
• Participants will learn the basics of how to move from a passive bystander to an active bystander when it comes to sexual harassment in the workplace
• Participants will learn how to support individuals who are on the receiving end of harm
• Participants will gain insight into biases on an individual and societal level, and how to overcome them

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Responding to Disclosures of Sexual Harassment/Violence in the Workplace (click to expand)

This workshop blends feminist and intersectional best practices that support survivors with the legally mandated responsibilities laid out under federal and provincial/territorial legislation.​

Learning Outcomes:

• Participants will learn best practices to support someone disclosing sexual violence both at work and outside of the workplace.
• Participants will learn how best practices of responding to disclosures can be negatively impacted by the legal system, such as breaking confidentiality, making decisions for the survivor, etc.
• Participants will learn about and understand why so many survivors of sexual violence will choose to never tell anyone, and then how to help create safer environments at work for survivors.

Bystander Intervention (click to expand)

The bystander intervention workshop focuses on real-life situations employees and management will find themselves in during their day-to-day activities. We build the skills to recognize harmful behaviour and the practical methods to address these situations. Whether ‘calling in’, ‘calling out,’ or deferring to outside help, we provide the tools and resources to leave staff feeling confident in their abilities to respond to and report on harm that can occur in the workplace.​

Learning Outcomes:

• Participants will learn how to move from a passive bystander to an active bystander when it comes to sexual harassment in the workplace
• Participants will learn how to support individuals who are on the receiving end of harmful comments and actions
• Participants will understand the complexities of why harm may happen and the best way to move forward after an instance of sexual harassment in the workplace

Unconscious Biases (click to expand)

​In these workshops we examine six majorly researched unconscious biases impacting our ability to be fair and open-minded when discussing, reacting to, responding to, or being preventative of gender inequity/sexual harassment. We cover the Affinity Bias, Attribution Bias, Performance Bias, Likeability Bias, Maternal Bias, and Intersectionality Bias.
​Learning Outcomes:

• Participants will be able to name and define the six majorly researched unconscious biases presented during the workshop
• Participants will understand how these biases impact our individual actions as well as the structures of society, and how to begin to disrupt these systems in a healthy way
• Participants will be exposed to real-life situations in order to take abstract learning and make it relatable and easily digestible

Male Allyship in the Workplace (click to expand)

Men commit sexual violence in the workplace more than other gender groups. Men also account for 90% of top paid C-level positions across Canada. Men need to not just be a part of this conversation but live the truths of equitable justice every day or there will never be a shift.

Learning Outcomes:

• Participants will gain an understanding of why men have not traditionally been engaged in these conversations and how that sets the stage for failure when tackling issues of sexual violence and gender parity
• Participants will understand that men need to be given the space to learn and unlearn in this important conversation
• Participants will learn that when men are forced into a box of toxic, rigid masculinity it 1) prevents them from opening up when they experience harm and 2) gives other men excuses to ‘opt out’ of this extremely important conversation

Navigating Customers Causing Harm (click to expand)

In this workshop, we examine situations that make workers more vulnerable to sexual harassment by a client/customer. We examine this real-life phenomenon through statistics, trends, and patterns in behavior in order to recognize the risks and harm that can occur when clients perpetrate sexual harassment against a worker.

Learning Outcomes:

• Participants will be able to describe and recognize sexual harassment by a client/customer
• Participants will learn strategies for intervening in occurrences of sexual harassment by a client/customer
• Participants will understand how to respond to disclosures of this nature
• Participants will develop an appreciation for how to create a safer workplace culture in which workers feel safe to disclose and prevent sexual harassment by clients/customers

Leading By Example Sports Program

Our Leading by Example Sports Program offers athletes the opportunity to become community champions in areas such as positive masculinity and consent culture. 

In 2016, Male Allies developed the curriculum for OHL Onside, a program which is delivered to all teams across the league. We provide training locally for the Kitchener Rangers as well as for the three American OHL teams and for athletes at Wilfrid Laurier University. Through our Leading by Example sports program, we are pleased to be able to offer similar training to minor level teams, school athletic teams, and community sports leagues.
In a Leading by Example session participants will:

• Learn important leadership skills in how to stand up against sexual and gender-based violence
• Look at how our actions, words and behaviours can impact others
• Discuss and learn to combat stereotypes which effect men and boys, particularly athletes
• Talk honestly about what it means to be a “strong man”
• Have an opportunity to ask questions in an open and supportive environment

School and Community Workshops

We offer a variety of workshops which are tailored to the age and needs of the group. We provide specific content for elementary and secondary schools, university/college students, workplaces and community organizations.​ Workshop themes are listed below; to read more just click on the title!

Bystander Intervention (Click to expand)

This workshop provides participants with a foundational knowledge of what sexual violence is and discusses what effective bystander intervention looks like. There will be an opportunity to explore how you can intervene, and what the effects are of different intervention tactics.

Sexual Violence Culture/ Sexual Harassment (Click to expand)

In this workshop participants will learn about sexual violence, including sexual harassment. The conversation will include how different actions, behaviours, attitudes and beliefs contribute to a culture of sexual violence.

Enthusiastic Consent (Click to expand)

Talking about consent doesn’t need to be awkward! Through a conversation on what consent is, what barriers exist in creating a culture of consent, and how to apply consent practices in sexual and non-sexual contexts, participants will learn ways to incorporate consent into their daily practices.

Healthy Relationships (Click to expand)

What does a healthy relationship actually look, sound, and feel like? What are “red flags” that someone may be trying to control or harm us? This workshop explores the characteristics of healthy, unhealthy, and abusive relationships.

Masculinity and Gender Stereotypes (Click to expand)

“Man up.” “Act like a lady.” Statements like these are heard every day and push people into boxes based on their gender. This workshop examines some of the ways in which gender-based stereotypes impact our relationships with ourselves and others.

Intro to Male Allyship (Click to expand)

What does it mean to be an ally? In this workshop, participants will learn about the process of allyship, including understanding our own power and privilege, and tangible steps we can take to support survivors of sexual violence.

Deconstructing Porn (Click to expand)

Online pornography has become widely available and is relatively easy for people of all ages to find. In this workshop participants will discuss the role pornography is playing is shaping people’s understanding of sexuality and sexual health, consent, sexual violence and more.  We will also explore ethical porn production, and the concept of feminist porn.

Queer/Trans Masculinity (Click to expand)

Homophobia/transphobia are commonly used as tools to control and constrain masculinity. Participants will discuss masculinity through a queer and trans lens, and look at strategies to open up the conversation surrounding gender, as well as ways to not recreate toxic masculinity in LGBTQ+ communities.

Testimonial

“Thank you for coming this morning to talk to our male athletes. You are a great resource in the community, the guys really responded to you. I want to talk about these things with them, but am not always sure how. This is something we will explore again in the future.”  
Tom Mandich – Department Head, Health and Physical Education, St. Mary’s School