Creating Safer Spaces: From Understanding to Active Intervention

Course Learning Objectives

This workshop explores some of the myths and facts around all forms of sexual violence, domestic abuse and hate crime. It is designed to raise awareness of the issues faced by survivors and impacts on society with a view to improving our ability to respond, intervene and stand-up to sexual violence, domestic abuse and hate crime.

Be able to define sexual violence, rape, and serious sexual offences in all their forms.

• Be able to define sexual violence, including key legislation and what the law says.  

• Be able to differentiate between consensual and non-consensual sex. 

• Know the types of behaviours and activities that are included in the definitions. 

• Understand sexual violence is about power and control. 

Feel confident to challenge commonly held myths around sexual violence, domestic abuse and hate crime through the lens of misogynistic culture.

• Identify and be able to challenge commonly held myths and misconceptions around sexual violence. 

• Address and expose how widespread, the extent and how embedded sexual violence is in society. 

• Have an understanding of structural misogyny and Rape Culture, and how they work to dehumanise women and girls and normalise, validate and perpetuate violence against them.
• Understand the impact of victim-blaming myths, including the concepts of Space for Action and Invisible Safety Work.
• Be able to take an Intersectional Approach, and understand that intersectional identities change experiences of violence.
• Be aware of how these crimes are experienced as trauma and the wide-ranging impacts on a survivor’s life.

Understand how to provide an effective response to a disclosure of sexual violence, domestic about and hate crime.

• Understand the obstacles to disclosure through an intersectional lens.
• Know the key requirements when receiving a first disclosure.
• Be able to provide an effective response to a disclosure understanding the survivor’s perspective in terms of what they might want or need.
• Feel confident to use grounding and mindfulness techniques with survivors.
• Know the key milestones in the reporting and police intervention process.
• Offer support to a survivor through the police reporting process.
• Know what relevant services are available locally and be able to signpost/make a referral to appropriate and specialist support services.

Feel confident to prevent sexual violence, domestic abuse and hate crime by being an Active Bystander.

• Know who can be an Active Bystander.
• Learn how to recognise someone in danger, in particular identify indicators of sexual harassment.
• Know when to intervene in sexual violence, domestic abuse and hate crime.
• Feel confident to safely intervene and stand-up to violence in all its form.