2018 Summit Breakout Sessions

Breakout Sessions #1

10:15 a.m. - 11:15 a.m.

Session A — Policy Panel
Facilitator: Kris Rose, End Violence Against Women International

Michigan policy makers have led the country with the response to untested sexual assault evidence kits, sexual assault evidence kit tracking, and other sexual assault initiatives. This panel will discuss emerging policy issues related to sexual assault in Michigan with a focus on implementation and system changes necessary to meaningfully realize these efforts.

Session B — Sexual assault in the news: How to report the facts without re-victimizing
Facilitator: Angie Povilaitis, Michigan Domestic and Sexual Violence Prevention and Treatment Board

While reporting the often-sensational facts about sexual assault is critical to raising awareness and highlighting the severity of the issue, it is also imperative to be mindful of how reporting affects—and in many cases revictimizes—survivors. This panel will examine how to balance thorough and comprehensive reporting with respecting the privacy and wellbeing of survivors and revealing the nuance of this complex issue.

Session C — Safer Choices (for high school students)
Facilitator: Mike Domitrz, Date Safe Project

Mike Domitrz presents how-to skills for boundaries to identify your personal standards and beliefs, to ensure consent through verbal communication, and to treat every person with dignity and respect. This session will also include understanding what a healthy relationship is, how to identify harmful possessive, controlling behaviors
(such as sexting), and to realize when you are not ready to be in a relationship yet.

Session D — Every interaction an opportunity: Survivor-centered strategies for healing and empowerment
Facilitator: Dani Bostick, Speaker, advocate and survivor

In the aftermath of sexual violence, survivors face the task of integrating their trauma into the narrative of their lives and giving meaning to it. In this session, attendees will identify social and cultural forces that inform the construction of survivor narratives; learn survivor-centered relational strategies that afford dignity, encourage resilience, and instill hope; and explore ways of amplifying survivor voice and perspective to improve campus prevention and response efforts.

Session E — The Emotional Backpack: What’s in there and how we can build trauma-informed support services and prevention efforts
Facilitator: Johanna Soet Buzolits, Michigan Domestic and Sexual Violence Prevention and Treatment Board

Students arrive on campus with a wide variety of experiences that make up their “emotional backpack.” This interactive presentation will cover the dynamics of single, multiple and poly-victimization as it relates to sexual assault on campus, explore the unique support needs of these individuals and discuss approaches to addressing increased-risk populations in prevention efforts.

Session F — Reimagining Masculinity
Facilitator: Casey Corcoran, Futures Without Violence

In order to address the issue of sexual violence on campus, we must have an honest discussion about the outsized role that toxic masculinity plays in maintaining and perpetuating unhealthy gender norms. This workshop will identify and address the subtle and obvious ways that unhealthy gender norms permeate our campuses, policies, and popular culture. Participants will engage in discussions around topics such as: what a campus might look like with healthy masculinity and gender norms; opportunities for change on campus across social ecological spectrum; and utilizing popular culture as strategy to effectively engage the campus community in addressing toxic masculinity.

Session G– Using Theatre of the Oppressed for Violence Prevention Efforts with Marginalized Communities on Campus
Facilitator: Skye Ashton Kantola, Purdue University

This workshop supports participants in developing knowledge and skills in regards to experiential education development and implementation. The workshop will first provide attendees with a basic understanding of Theatre of the Oppressed as a praxis that is rooted in anti-oppression and liberation and can be applied in the field of violence prevention. In order to work together, we must be able to play together! So, we will play some games grounded in popular education and from Theater of the Oppressed that will both build group cohesion and trust and can also be used to begin discussion about group belonging and marginalization.

Breakout Sessions #2

11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Session A – Can I Kiss You? (for college students)
Facilitator: Mike Domitrz, Date Safe Project

Mike Domitrz presents the one-person show sharing how-to skills for Asking First (verbal consent), Being a Friend (bystander intervention), and Opening a Door (properly supporting survivors and helping more survivors come forward). Attendees will gain “how to” skills for ensuring consent in sexual intimacy, intervening in sexual situations involving alcohol (including at bars and clubs), and help more survivors in the military come forward for support.

Session B –Intersectionality: How to involve all communities in conversations about campus sexual assault
Facilitator: Heather McCauley, Michigan State University

Too often the conversation of campus sexual assault focuses on white, cis, heterosexual victims while traditionally marginalized communities have been overlooked. This panel will analyze the impact of sexual assault as it relates to race, religion, the LGBTQ+ community and individuals with disabilities.

Session C – Healing and Recovery - Vicarious Resilience
Facilitator: Elizabeth Gonzalez, University of Michigan

In this session participants will engage in self-reflection to recall their passion and purpose and how this connects to working with trauma survivors. Through reconnecting with one’s passion and purpose along with learning about vicarious resilience and trauma stewardship, participants will explore their own path for healing and recovery.

Session D – Sex Signals (for high school students)
Facilitator: Catharsis Productions

Sex Signals has become one of the most popular sexual assault prevention programs on college campuses through its unorthodox, humor-facilitated and inclusive approach to examining our culture, sex, and prevention strategies like bystander intervention. Sex Signals is updated every six months to stay culturally relevant and regularly incorporates new teaching strategies based on best practices research from numerous fields of study.

Session E – Workgroup presentation: Model for coordinated response between Title IX and law enforcement
Facilitator: Angie Povilaitis, Michigan Domestic and Sexual Violence Prevention and Treatment Board

This year, Gov. Snyder asked a workgroup of experts to develop a model for piloting an independent consortium to investigate reports of campus sexual misconduct. The goal of this project was to create a new approach to help ensure campus reports of sexual assault are handled promptly and appropriately. This panel will discuss the recommendations and considerations of the workgroup and the need for a coordinated response between law enforcement and Title IX investigators.

Session F – Widening the lens: Focusing on the campus in campus sexual assault
Facilitator: Carrie Moylan, Michigan State University

Research on campus sexual violence suggests that while the college years are a risky time for students, the exact rate of sexual assault on campuses varies from one institution to another. This workshop widens the lens to incorporate the ways that institutions of higher education may create environments that exacerbate or lessen the risk of sexual violence for their students.

Breakout Sessions #3

1:45 p.m. - 2:45 p.m.

Session A – Creating change at your high school: Strategies to take the lead in preventing sexual violence
Facilitator: Casey Corcoran, Futures Without Violence

Across the country we’ve seen the power of young people organizing and creating social change in their schools and communities. This workshop will focus on the role that youth leadership plays in effectively preventing and addressing sexual violence. We will explore programs, strategies, tools and pop culture movements that high school students can use to create effective and engaging programming in their schools and communities.

Session B – Institutional leadership’s role in setting the tone for campus culture
Facilitator: Rebecca DeVooght, University of Michigan

Initiating culture change on campuses will require all levels of college and university leadership to prioritize sexual assault awareness and prevention. This panel will discuss the importance of institutional leaders adapting a unified, holistic approach to addressing this issue to make campuses safe, supportive and inclusive for students and survivors.

Session C – The Hook Up (for college students)
Facilitator: Catharsis Productions

Hooking up can often sound like harmless fun, but it can also be a cover for some very unhealthy behaviors. This engaging discussion pulls back the covers on hooking up, clarifying when it’s actually sexual violence and how bystanders can protect potential victims from predators.

Session D – Ending Campus Sexual Violence through the Culture of Respect Collective
Allison Tombros, Culture of Respect

The Culture of Respect Collective is an ambitious two-year program that brings together institutions of higher education who are dedicated to ending campus sexual violence and guides them through a rigorous process of self-assessment and targeted organizational change. Join Culture of Respect Senior Director Allison Tombros Korman to learn what participation in the Collective entails, the benefits included in the program, and how this comprehensive approach to cultural and institutional change will bring your campus community together as they work to end sexual violence.

Session E – Workgroup presentation: Best practices for sexual assault prevention
Facilitator: Heather McCauley, Michigan State University

This year, First Lady Sue Snyder reconvened the Campus Sexual Assault Workgroup to develop a roadmap of best practices for prevention on college and university campuses. This panel of workgroup members will discuss the roadmap that was created and examine the thoughtful considerations that were developed to help guide institutions in their work to implement prevention models that fit the unique needs of each institution.

Session F – Connecting sexual and domestic violence with campus violence prevention efforts
Facilitator: Skye Ashton, Purdue University

This workshop will be an interactive session focused on connecting the risk and protective factors for sexual violence and domestic violence. We will focus not only on broad ways in which sexual and domestic violence may coalesce, but also some culturally unique ways in which marginalized students – such as LGBTQ+ students, students of color, international students, first generation students, undocumented students - may experience these forms of violence, culturally specific help-seeking behaviors, and the ways in which our current university systems often fail (but could do better!) marginalized communities in these areas.