From February 14 to 18, Camosun will be hosting a series of online workshops discussing sexualized and gender-based violence prevention. The interactive event is organized by Camosun’s Office of Student Support (OSS) and is available for both students and staff. Because it is online this year, attendees have the opportunity to participate as much or as little as they are comfortable with.
“You’re in control,” says Camosun Office of Student Support operations assistant Alyssa Husband. “We’ve had people that are just there to listen and that’s totally okay, but we also have people that want to share and ask questions and write comments.”
The goal with Camosun’s Sexualized Violence Awareness Week is to facilitate dialogue and education with regard to how this community can prevent sexualized violence from happening.
“It’s an opportunity to come together and send a united message that sexualized and gender-based violence is not okay in our community,” says Husband. “We hope by offering opportunities to learn and to talk with one another that we can continue to build a community that does not accept sexualized and gender-based violence.”
The workshops cover a variety of subjects and intend to leave participants with the knowledge and tools to foster healthy and safe relationships with themselves and others. Subjects that will be discussed include creating boundaries, sustaining healthy relationships, understanding how mainstream depictions of sex and gender inform our experience and identity, and breaking the silence surrounding sexual violence. The workshops that students can access are “Building Consent and Reconstructing Masculinity,” “Healthy Relationships: Guilt-free Boundaries,” and “Be More Than a Bystander.” Although this week of events is focused on awareness and learning, the OSS is available at all times to offer direct support for students.
“Folks can get in contact with us over email, over phone, our contact information is on our website,” says Husband, “and we really welcome folks to reach out—even if they’re not sure what they need or what they want to do, to just ask some questions or get some information.”
The OSS is the primary on-campus resource for sexual-violence support. The office has three student support managers who can meet with students. Husband says that they are there for everyone, no matter their circumstances.
“We offer support and information to survivors or people who have experienced harm, or if you know somebody that has experienced harm who has questions or wants information,” says Husband.
Husband says the OSS wants to support survivors in whatever capacity they need.
“If you just want to let us know that you had an experience or if you want to make a report, but you don’t have to make a report,” says Husband. “You will still be able to get support from our support managers, regardless of what you do. People that come forward get to decide what they would like to do.”
Husband says that the OSS frequently talks about how to best establish the community they envision and is optimistic that events like the Sexualized Violence Awareness Week are a fundamental step in doing so—especially in the setting of a post-secondary institution.
“We’re aware that college is a place where people come together from different schools, different communities, different backgrounds and that makes a really cool opportunity to learn from, and help, each other,” says Husband. “I think we are moving in the right direction.”
For more information on Camosun’s Sexualized Violence Awareness Week and to sign up for workshops, head to camosun.ca/svaw.