Community Initiatives
programs & services > community initiatives
Prevention Education
In moving toward our vision of creating holistic modes of healing and accountability we launched the Community Initiatives Program in 2006. This new program is a merging of both our Adult and Teen Education department, and will address entire communities through interactive education while intergrating rape crisis services, direct health care, community education and organizing, relationship building and accountability models.
We offer training on various topics to youth and adults in schools, social service agencies, and community organizations. Presentation topics include the following (click topics below to read short descriptions):
Sexual Assault and Rape Prevention
Sexual Assault and Rape Prevention: This interactive presentation provides fundamental information about sexual assault, including: consent, staying safe on a date, myths about rape, and what to do if you or someone you know has been assaulted. Participants learn to frame rape within the context of larger cultural institutions and critically examine how various forms of oppression intersect to create and sustain a 'rape culture.'
Sexual Harassment
Sexual Harassment: In this presentation participants learn how to define sexual harassment and distinguish between sexual harassment and flirting (flirting vs. hurting). Participants learn strategies to address sexual harassment when it happens to them or someone they know. During the presentation facilitators help participants to deconstruct sexual harassment scenarios involving issues of gender, race, age, size, etc., while exploring underlying power dynamics that maintain hostile environments.
Healthy Dating
Healthy Dating: In this presentation, participants learn to recognize and define qualities of healthy relationships. Interactive exercises are used to illustrate how to set healthy personal boundaries, and what to do if you or someone you know is in an abusive relationship. Participants learn about behavioral warning signs present in unhealthy relationships, including the cycle of violence and the power and control wheel.
Supporting Survivors of Sexual Assault
Supporting Survivors of Sexual Assault: This presentation is designed for health care providers and counselors who have clients dealing with issues around sexual violence. Participants learn essential techniques around supporting survivors, cardinal symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD) and Rape Trauma Syndrome, statistics, how and where to get medical treatment in the aftermath of an assault, community resources, self-care tips for providers, family members and loved ones, and an overview of rape culture.
Anti-Oppression
Anti-Oppression: This presentation provides participants with essential terminology (racism, prejudice, internalized oppression) and a basic overview of the dynamics of oppression. Through the use of interactive exercises, role-plays, and other dramatic techniques, participants explore and deconstruct oppression dynamics. The role of cultural, familial and institutional messages in creating and sustaining oppression, and the origins of oppression are explored, as is the relationship between rape and other forms of oppression. Particular emphasis is placed on the role of the ally in eradicating various forms of oppression. Additionally, participants learn basic non-defensive communication strategies.
Drug Facilitated Sexual Assault
Drug Facilitated Sexual Assault: This presentation provides a fundamental overview of DFSA, prevention tips for youth and parents, statistics, how to identify common date rape drugs and their effects on individuals, evidence collection procedures, what to do if you or someone you know has been drugged, and the emotional and psychological impact of date rape drugs on survivors.
Internet Communication Technology Based Violence Prevention
ICT Violence Prevention: In this presentation facilitators examine how the advent of the internet has created a new and fertile forum for various types of sexual perpetration, harassment and violence. During this presentation, participants learn valuable tips for staying safe on the internet, including what to do if you or someone you know is being cyberbullied, cyberstalked or sexually harassed using the internet or other forms of technology.
Bystander Intervention
Bystander Intervention: This interactive presentation provides an overview of oppression dynamics and strategies for interrupting oppressive situations when they occur. During the presentation, participants learn about the roles of bystander, target, ally, and oppressor and how each operates during an oppressive situation. The workshop engages participants in dramatic role-plays that explore motiviations behind oppressive actions while also providing opportunities to practice intervening.
DOWNLOAD
descriptions of our workshops
If you or your organization is interested in inviting SFWAR to provide a presentation on one of the above topics please call 415-861-2024
Training & Technical Assistance
Our Recruitment & Training Program works to build a community of activists willing to struggle, learn and work toward individual and community healing. The training includes education on dynamics of sexual violence in diverse communities, dialogues about challenging oppression, and skill building in crisis intervention, counseling, advocacy, and outreach. Through ongoing support and training of our volunteer pool of Hotline Counselors, Medical Advocates, In-Person Counselors and Outreach Volunteers and interns, we are able to provide quality peer-based services free of charge.
Community Outreach and Organizing
Community Organizing: The program has identified five specific at-risk communities that frequently have limited access to services. Over the past year the CI Program has conducted a series of focus groups with each of these communities in an effort to assess the impact of gender-based violence within these communities. This past year we assembled a Task Force comprised of community leaders to analyze the information we have collected from these focus groups. Our plan is to create a comprehensive report summarizing all of the data, which can be used to better inform the type of services we provide, assess gaps in service, and help us to create culturally and linguistically competent media materials.
Outreach: This year SFWAR launched a structured outreach plan targeting residents of the Mission District and Tenderloin. The plan provides a detailed strategy for disseminating prevention education materials and resources to the community on a regular basis. In addition to these activities, we frequently provide information tables at community health fairs and events, enlisting the help of certified rape crisis counselor volunteers. Last year we tabled at a total of 20 events across San Francisco County, providing valuable informational resources to the public.
