Yukon College staff to be trained in responding to disclosures of sexual assault

WHITEHORSE—Staff at Yukon College are receiving training this month on how to best respond to disclosure from a student or colleague of sexualized assault or harrassment. Front line staff across a number of College departments and all Safety and Security officers will receive this training; it will be expanded to additional staff over the next year.

The two-hour training session will focus on how to lead a supportive conversation with the person disclosing, and informing them of resources available at Yukon College and in the wider community. The session will be led by two College staff with extensive experience in counselling and survivor support and is intended to be phase one of a larger sexualized violence education plan for staff and students.

This training coincides with May being Sexualized Assault Prevention Month and a new sexualized harrassment and assault policy being developed by staff and students.

“Educating staff and students on appropriate responses to disclosure, appropriate actions that can be taken, and how to prevent or intervene as a bystander if you see a situation that may escalate to sexual violence, are vital components of the new policy we are creating,” said Brian Bonia, director of human resources, Yukon College.

Bonia is one of four staff who attended the first ever National Conference on Campus Sexual Assault for Higher Education Administrators in Toronto, last September.

“It was very valuable to hear the experience of other college and university administrators in addressing sexual violence on campus, particularly how to effectively support survivors of such violence,” said Bonia.

Seven staff and two students are developing the new Yukon College policy from similar policies introduced at St. Mary’s University in Halifax and the University of Lethbridge. The policy will be guided by the best practice of trauma informed care—supporting the reporting individual’s needs and requests, and seeking to empower the self-agency of the individual who experienced the sexualized violence. Bonia expects the new policy will be in place for the 2016/17 academic year.

“By better educating students and staff on this issue we will hopefully contribute to a shift in our society that will see an end to sexualized violence. There is much work still to be done and we are fortunate to be working with those who have been on the front line of this issue such as Victoria Faulkner Women’s Centre, Kaushee’s Place, Les EssentiELLES, the RCMP and Yukon First Nations,” said Bonia.

A full calendar of events marking Sexualized Assault Prevention Month can be found at endviolenceyukon.com or the Victoria Faulkner Women’s Centre and Les EssentiELLES Facebook pages.