Programs, Training Sessions & Events

This self-directed hour-long online training module is designed to give first-year residence students a foundational understanding of gender-based and sexual violence as a societal issue and its impact on our community.

This online training is further supplemented by an in-person, skill-building component titled "Undressing Consent: A Pleasurable Approach to Learning About Consent, Rejection, and Sexual Violence" (developed by Western, CREVAWC & Anova, and offered by Anova), where students can discuss and reflect on consent, sexual violence, sexuality, and its impact on our community.

This training allows participants to learn about the impacts of gender-based and sexual violence on individuals and communities and learn how to safely apply Upstander intervention skills to intervene in situations of gender-based and sexual violence.

This training is designed to educate participants on Western's Policy on Gender-Based and Sexual Violence and Notification of Disclosure Protocol and their roles and responsibilities for receiving and reporting a disclosure.

This online training is designed for all Western students participating in University sanctioned international experiences (offered through Western International). The Gender Norms and Sexual Violence module of this training is intended to create awareness, critical thinking, and discussion around cultural gender norms and how these can contribute to the perpetuation of sexual violence. This online training can further be supplemented by an in-person, skill-building component where students can explore gender norms, consent, and bystander interventions in greater depth.

For customized GBSV training, please fill out this form with your information and a member of the GBSV Education team will follow up.

Past trainings have included: Power Dynamics in Professional Programs, Professional Practices in Kinesiology, GBSV for Future Medical Professionals, Healthy Sexuality in Residence, Upstander Training for Graduate Students, Allies on Campus, Sex-Positive Parenting, and Locker Room Talk.

Man|Made is an exciting 5 session discussion group program, facilitated by Anova, designed for men to help them find their voice and use it to create change for themselves and their community. Find out more about Man|Made.

This hourlong class is taught by Katlin Robinson, who is known as being a CIAYT certified yoga therapist and an ERYT200 / RYT500 yoga teacher. The class provides a space for participants to (re)connect and be safely present with their bodies and breath. Sign up by emailing lkmarshall@fanshawec.ca.

Wen-Do is a program designed for women by women. Techniques are designed for women of all ages, sizes, and abilities. A combination of discussion, with practical physical skills results in an integration of mental and physical preparedness. During two jam-packed sessions, you will feel more confident, secure, and protected in your day-to-day, and you will be connected with additional services including counselling, hotlines, police, and martial arts classes. To join the waitlist for upcoming sessions, please email gbsv.edu@uwo.ca.

Different from structured training on gender-based and sexual violence, this program facilitates ongoing discussion that engages student athletes in exploring topics vital to them as they relate to gender-based and sexual violence. The discussion opens space for honest dialogue and planning on how they can reshape locker room talk and its environment to create safer spaces and prevent gender-based and sexual violence.

Coming soon!

The Body Project is a group-based intervention that provides a forum for women and girls to confront unrealistic beauty ideals and engages them in the development of healthy body image through verbal, 1 written, and behavioral exercises. The Body Project was developed by researchers at Stanford University, the University of Texas at Austin, and Oregon Research Institute, and has been delivered to over one million young women around the world.

If you would like more information, please email gbsv.edu@uwo.ca.

Coming soon!

The EAAA sexual assault resistance education program is a 12-hour small-group, empirically based intervention program designed specifically for first year university female-identified students.

If you would like more information, please email gbsv.edu@uwo.ca.

• Pleasure Principles with Farrah Khan: A Sexual Communication Workshop | November 17
• Advanced Film Screening: Women Talking | November 24
• Sexy Sexual Health Trivia with Samantha Bitty | November 29
• Stories Spark Change: An Evening with adrienne maree brown | January 26
• Pleasure Pursuit | February 13-17
• Restorative Justice for Sexual Harm – Why I Fought for a Circle, Not a Courtroom: Marlee Liss | March 9

More Info on these events at reshape.uwo.ca.

Pleasure is Power Keynote by Madame Gandhi

As part of Madame Gandhi’s mission towards gender equality, this presentation addresses consent, sex positivity, creating safe spaces, and how we can all work together to shift the culture. 

Check out the full-length video here.

Pleasure on a Plate with Bal Arneson

When we think of a flavor, what comes to mind is usually its distinctive qualities: the singular “coffeeness” of coffee. That is, a mix of tastes, aromas, mouthfeel, and temperature. But that’s really only half the equation. The other is how that coffee makes you feel. You sip it not just to fill your stomach, or even to wake up, but to get a little pleasure and satisfaction. Pleasure is what animates eating and drinking and makes them truly gratifying.

Check out these short videos developed by Bal Arneson, highlighting the multisensory experiences of using spices and other ingredients in cooking to increase sensations of pleasure: Roti, Lentils, Golden Milk, Citrus Ginger Tea, and Quinoa.

Western University and Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences collaborated to establish a Recovery College at Western University to enhance mental health support for students. During the winter term, two courses are being offered: Navigating Change and How to University 101. To learn more, visit the Wellness & Equity Education page HERE.

This Bias Training is designed to help self-expose our individual unconscious biases, confirmation biases, and perceptions that are directly tied to micro-aggressions. This training will provide tools to adjust automatic patterns of thinking and ultimately work towards eliminating internal discriminatory behaviors.

This ally-ship training positions people of all identities to successfully undertake allyship at home, in student leadership roles, in social settings, and beyond. By highlighting the stakes of ally-ship, as well as practical tools to achieve it, this training will empower everyone to practice ally-ship as a means of fostering healthy and inclusive environments for all.

This training explores the historical roots of racism and helps you understand the impacts of racism on an individual, institutional, and societal level. This training will provide everyone with tools for dealing with racism while examining how we continue to contribute toward systemic racism across the different aspects of our lives. This training session will encourage you to build upon your existing experiences and knowledge, and find personal and professional applications in your various roles as a student, student leader, or student staff member.

This training allows students to understand power, privilege, and various forms of oppression while defining the diversity of our campus. The goal of this training session is to bring students to a place of recognizing the difference between equality and equity at an institutional and individual level while also recognizing what privilege looks like, feels like, and its impact on individuals and groups of people, in the Canadian context.

This training focuses on several aspects of identity (such as race, class, religion, and gender) as tools of analysis while exploring how people can simultaneously navigate social spaces with both dominant and oppressed identities. The goal is to encourage students to think through how we can build solidarity with others through understanding the complexity of multiple and intersecting social identities held by ourselves and others. This training is designed with the assumption that participants have a foundational understanding of power, privilege, and identity.