Kentro Webinar: Building a Trauma-Informed Culture–Caring for Survivors of Sexual Violence

Vision: The hope is that everyone who attends this webinar can leave with at least one open, accurate, and honest conversation about sexual violence and how to create a trauma-informed culture. In the non-profit sector, there are some resources available to develop policies and procedures in the event of an incident within an organization. However, what leads an abuser to believe they can get away with abuse within an organization? The answer is culture. The goal is not to simply have good enough policies and procedures stored in our files so that we don’t have to talk about these sensitive topics unless an incident were to occur. The only way our organizations will be truly safe and healthy is if, before any incidents happen, everyone knows that our leaders and teams can engage in tough conversations on sensitive topics like these. Before we say a word about a particular situation, we have set an expectation of how we might respond based on how we lead. If we’ve never shown that our teams can have healthy conversations on this topic, why would a survivor in their vulnerability feel they can be the first to speak up?

What will be covered? We will start by running a Menti (anonymous feedback poll) and invite the group to respond to the question “What hesitations or anxieties do you have going into a topic like sexual violence?”. This will help identify the barriers to healthy conversations, normalize the feelings in the room, and assure everyone that we can engage in productive dialogue as we work through those emotions. Next, we will share statistics on abuse both in Canada and globally. We will highlight that, in Canada and worldwide, 1 in 3 women and 1 in 8 men have experienced sexual assault. We will also discuss how 93% of sex offenders describe themselves as religious, leading into a conversation about why this is an issue that Christian leaders, regardless of their organization, must care about. Specifically, we will address the power dynamics that exist in Christian environments.

Approach: Our approach to this conversation will align with the way we handle all Fullwell training. We aim to engage participants in discussion (as much as possible via Zoom), drawing out ideas and thoughts from the group. This will need to be done in a controlled manner given the sensitivity of the topic. We will not invite stories or personal experiences, as sharing such details could trigger others. Our goal is to maintain an environment of respect, curiosity, and openness.

This session will be facilitated by Abby Blundell, Leadership Coach at Fullwell Leadereship.

** All participants are asked to read and abide by Kentro’s Principles of Welcome & Learning, which can be found here: https://kentronetwork.ca/kentro-principles-of-welcome-learning