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

With Em Cooper and Jena Friedman

Comics Em Cooper and Jena Friedman get real (and funny) on true crime, campus rape, and comedy in tackling sexual violence.

With Aurora Browne

Join Dr. Kiara Mikita & Aurora Browne for a sharp, funny conversation about sexual violence, vehicles, Taylor Swift, & dirty jokes...

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, their roles, the experience of being in court, and what is expected of the person who has been sexually assaulted by another person can all feel overwhelming and unclear.

Join Sasha Best and Hilary Jahelka with the Sexual Violence Survivors Legal Advice Program, in conversation with Kiara Mikita, the Sexual Violence Educator for the Cumming School of Medicine (CSM) and Alberta Health Services (AHS), as they discuss the basics of the path through the criminal legal system, address common areas of confusion and misconception about sexual violence and the criminal legal system, and talk about how the Sexual Violence Survivors Legal Advice Program works. They will speak to why people who have been sexually assaulted by other people seek out and benefit from legal advice, and the kinds of questions they are commonly asked.

Calgary Legal Guidance offers a number of programs focused on particular areas of law and on specific situations that our clientele may be dealing with. One of these programs is the Sexual Violence Survivors Legal Advice Program.

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 use of the word “no” can be problematic and misguided. Listen in as these sexual violence experts discuss affirmative consent and why it matters, and how examples of how we’re really good at it are everywhere.

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 recommendations to address sexual violence when working with Indigenous populations.