Changing Conversations: Experts on everyday sexual violence prevention, intervention, and response

With cohost comedian and facilitator Em Cooper (they/them) and guests author, educator, and activist Jane Doe (she/her) and Zack Marshall, MSW, PhD (he/him) Is, can, and should it still be funny? Contemplate how humour lands in various forms, from various perspectives, and for various audiences.

With cohost comedian and facilitator Em Cooper (they/them) and guests comedian Shane Clark (he/him) and Meg Martin, MC (she/her) Is it too risky to be funny? Explore safety, risk, what it means and for whom in today’s ever-shifting cultural landscape.

With cohost comedian and facilitator Em Cooper (they/them) and guests comedian Meg MacKay (they/them) and Femi Akinsanya, BSc (she/her) Explore critical and clever approaches to contemplating edgy humour with this playful and insightful panel.

With cohost comedian and facilitator Em Cooper (they/them) and guests Paula Russel (she/her) MSW, RSW and Kasra Hakimattar (he/him) MSW, RSW Listen in as this expert panel considers what comedy reveals — and conceals — about sexual violence, and how humour can challenge, reinforce, or reframe what we know.

With guest Diana Wark (she/her), RSW You will leave this learning opportunity with practical tips to support parents in teaching sexual health and relationship information to their children.

With guests Hilary Jahelka (she/they), MSW, RSW and Sasha Best (she/her) Often, people who have been sexually assaulted by other people move through the criminal legal system without truly understanding the process, without knowing why things are unfolding the way they are. The path through the criminal legal system in the context of sexual violence can be confusing – the processes, the people, th...

With guests Jenny Ofrim (she/her), MSW, RSW and Meg Martin (she/her), MC Do you know about affirmative consent, and that it is Canada's legal standard? Listen into this conversation about how consent is often (mis)understood and what we might do differently as a result. They will talk about why “no means no” is an insufficient consent standard (socially and legally), and why expectations around us...

With guest Stephanie Tipple (Mi’kmaw), BA (Hons), MSc Healthcare providers often experience discomfort and uncertainty working with Indigenous peoples due to a lack of knowledge of colonialism, Indigenous culture, and the diversity of Indigeneity in Canada. Drawing on the critical knowledge and considerations presented in the previous session, this discussion will focus on action-oriented recommen...

With guest Stephanie Tipple (Mi’kmaw), BA (Hons), MSc The impact of sexual violence on Indigenous peoples is uniquely complex due to centuries of colonialism and intergenerational trauma. In particular, historical and ongoing harm results in mistrust of healthcare services and providers. This conversation will educate listeners on critical knowledge and considerations needed to understand the impa...

With guests Femi Akinsanya (she/her), BSc and Patrina Duhaney, H.BA, BSW, MSW, PhD How can we better understand the intersection of race and oppression in sexual violence support? This discussion explores the complex and interconnected nature of sexual violence, oppression, and racism. We will understand how these systems of power and inequality intersect and perpetuate one another, leading to dis...

With guest Hilary Jahelka (she/they), MSW, RSW Increasingly, people who have experienced sexual violence are seeking legal advice to make sense of their own experiences and to better understand the legal processes they may choose to engage with or may already be involved with.

With guest Nolan E. Hill (he/him), BA This session will explore the unique experiences of gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (gbMSM) in accessing and understanding their health and how this intersects with experiences of sexual violence. We explore how sexual violence shows up for gbMSM in a variety of contexts, and how this impacts their health outcomes. Health care providers will...

With guest Cathy Carter-Snell (she/her), PhD, RN SANE-A We are all aware that being exposed to sexual violence is an incredibly difficult and traumatic experience. What many people may not know is that turning to legal systems to deal with sexual violence can bring with it its own unique challenges and questions.

With guest Jenny Ofrim (she/her), MSW, RSW Join us as we explore how work in rural areas often means working with fewer resources, different challenges, and sometimes more complexity.

With guest Meg Martin (she/her), MC Becoming aware of the sexualized violence someone has perpetrated or is perpetrating against someone else can ignite all kinds of responses within us. In a trauma- and violence-informed context, how we manage and act upon those responses should be secondary to and/or in the least informed by the victimized person’s wishes. In some cases, we might feel very diffe...

With guests Femi Akinsanya (she/her), BSc and Paula Russel (she/her), MSW, RSW Learn directly from experts who provide sexual violence information, awareness, crisis support, and resources across Calgary.

With guests Meg Martin (she/her), MC and Paula Russel (she/her), MSW, RSW Do you know that there’s more to talking about consent than, “no means no,” or even, “yes means yes?" Do you know how to talk about consent in a way that honours diverse experiences and perspectives?

With guests Meg Martin (she/her), MC and Paula Russel (she/her), MSW, RSW Did you know that most of us practice consent on a daily basis? Did you know that attending to how we practice consent in non-sexual situations can improve both our non-sexual and our sexual interactions?

With guests Sylvain Coderre (he/him), MD, FRCPC, MSc, Joe Campbell (he/him), Jeff Halvorsen (he/him), PhD, and Kasra Hakimattar (he/him), MSW, RSW Listen to the three prior episodes in this 4-part series where we engaged each expert individually, and then in this episode, collectively, as part of a panel, to help offer context and clarity on safe workplace engagement practices, tease out harassmen...

With guest Kasra Hakimattar (he/him), MSW, RSW Is it safe to make jokes? Am I allowed to hug a colleague? Can I offer comfort to someone who is upset? What kinds of touch and interaction are and aren't permissible? How can I check in with others? Can we really trust allegations of harassment? How can I know? This 4-part series asks these questions of three different male experts in gender-based vi...

With guest Jeff Halvorsen, PhD (he/him) Is it safe to make jokes? Am I allowed to hug a colleague? Can I offer comfort to someone who is upset? What kinds of touch and interaction are and aren't permissible? How can I check in with others? Can we really trust allegations of harassment? How can I know? This 4-part series asks these questions of three different male experts in gender-based violence....

With guest Joe Campbell (he/him) Is it safe to make jokes? Am I allowed to hug a colleague? Can I offer comfort to someone who is upset? What kinds of touch and interaction are and aren't permissible? How can I check in with others? Can we really trust allegations of harassment? How can I know? This 4-part series asks these questions of three different male experts in gender-based violence. This f...

With guest Pam McClusky, Crown Prosecutor (she/her) Crown Prosecutor Pamela McCluskey is a wealth of experience and knowledge, and she has kindly agreed to return to us! Pamela will round out the first part of the talk she began earlier, and in Part 2, she will speak more about criminal trials and trial processes. Please note that although Pamela speaks from her perspective as a Crown Prosecutor,...

With guest Pam McClusky, Crown Prosecutor (she/her) Did you know that longstanding trends show that most sexual assaults are not reported to police, and of those that are, only a small fraction are prosecuted? Did you know that though the defence lawyer acts on behalf of the accused, the Crown acts on behalf of the state and not on behalf of those who have made the accusations? Join us to listen i...

With guests Pauline Head (she/her), MD FRCPC and Lisa Bell (she/her), BScN Join us as we discuss the kinds of trauma and violence-informed considerations that govern the nature and content of interactions between specialized physicians/nurses and people who have been sexually assaulted by other people. Learn from long standing colleagues whose decades of experience and insight shine an important l...