AVP Volunteer Training Applications are OPEN!
The AVP team is so excited to announce that we will be offering our Volunteer Training program this October! If you are interested in joining an amazing group of people striving to disrupt sexualized and gender based violence, and build consent culture on campus and in the community, this is your opportunity!
Below is a brief explanation of our organization, volunteer training and commitments, as well as links to fill out the volunteer application form. This training is open to people of all genders, backgrounds and abilities who are students, staff and/or community members. Once you’ve read the following information and decided that you’re interested in joining us for the 2022/23 school year, please fill out the application form below, through the google form link. Please submit your application before Monday, September 26th at 12pm.
About the Anti-Violence Project
The Anti-Violence Project provides sex-positive, anti-oppressive services that prevent and act against gender-based and sexualized violence. Our services are open to people of all genders whether you’re a UVic student, alumni, staff, faculty, or a community member. We provide confidential peer support services to people who have been impacted by gender-based and/or sexualized violence by: directly experiencing it, through causing harm to someone else, or supporting or knowing someone who has experienced it. We provide resources and information through our support hours, free workshops, lending library, free zines and free safer sex supplies. Our education and advocacy initiatives on campus and in the community include collaborative events and campaigns to raise awareness and build cultures of care and consent.
Who can apply?
We encourage people of all genders, backgrounds, and abilities to apply. Our volunteer training is open to all community members; you do not have to be a UVic student to apply.
Benefits of Volunteering
● Gain and utilize knowledge, analysis, and awareness of gender-based and sexualized violence and the many forms it takes
● Gain skills to support and empower survivors
● Join a team of people committed to creating change on personal, community, institutional, and systemic levels and form lasting friendships
● Learn about and utilize anti-oppressive and anti-colonial practices in relation to anti-violence work
● Experience personal development and growth
● Receive approx. 30 hours of training on topics including support, violence prevention, and sex-positive education skills
● Participate in ongoing training sessions throughout the year
● Volunteer appreciation events
● A written reference on request
● Opportunities to be involved in campus life and community events as representatives of the Anti-Violence Project
● UVic students can receive a co-curricular credit for completing the training
Volunteer Requirements
● Available approximately 30 hours in October/November for volunteer training (all dates on next page)
● Commit to volunteering an average of 1-3 hours/week (based on the availability of tasks and your schedule) from November 2022 to May 2023
● Have an open and respectful attitude
● Have a curiosity or awareness of intersectional feminism and anti-oppressive practices
● Have willingness for self-reflection and accountability
● Have willingness to unlearn oppressive behaviours and challenge own assumptions
● Have good interpersonal skills and/or willingness to receive feedback
● Be comfortable working in a group setting
● Have supports available in your life, as volunteering can be challenging
● Be comfortable working with diverse populations (people of all genders and sexual orientations, people from various cultural backgrounds)
● Respect people’s rights regarding contraceptive choice and reproductive freedom
● Review our “scent free” policy and be scent-free during training and while volunteering
Volunteer Training – An Overview
After reviewing applications we may interview/have follow up questions for short-listed applicants as we only have 20 training spots available. We then invite successful candidates to attend our extensive and informative volunteer training (approx. 30 hours). Our volunteer training program is not an academic course, but the workload is comparable to a university course; regular attendance is required and there are weekly readings. Topics covered in training include: colonization, sexualized violence, consent, sex positivity, gender beyond the binary, anti-racism, ableism, and self and community care. AVP’s training is done from an anti-colonial, intersectional framework.
We ask volunteers to commit to working with AVP throughout the Fall and Spring term for volunteer roles which include: supporting survivors, allies, and people who’ve caused harm who are seeking support and referrals, outreach initiatives that may include peer education, engaging groups through activities and table displays, research projects, writing blog posts or book reviews, making zines, art or buttons, helping with administration tasks, and facilitating workshops.
We also collaborate and volunteer with many groups to commemorate, celebrate, resist, and protest in the form of marches, cultural events and gatherings, joint conferences or workshops, and artistic events in the community.
Training Dates
The 2022 Volunteer Training takes place over 4-6 weeks in October/November. The first set of trainings will be held on primarily Tuesday & Thursday evenings in October, with the exception of the first week, starting October 11th until early November. Currently, our first and last sessions are scheduled as in person, but this will be dependent on the comfort of participants, staff, and current public health recommendations.
We will have a break following the training period providing participants the opportunity to reflect upon the training content, as well as think about their own goals and interests for volunteering. During this time we will meet with each volunteer individually to chat about these topics. During November,, new volunteers will be able to attend more skill focused training sessions to learn how we run our peer support services and facilitate workshops (we will decide on the exact dates during the first part of Volunteer Training).
Core Training Dates:
Tuesday, October 11th, 5-8:30
Wednesday, October 12th, 6-8:30
Tuesday, October 18th, 6-8:30
Thursday, October 20th, 6-8:30
Tuesday, October 25th, 6-8:30
Thursday, October 27th, 6-8:30
Tuesday, November 1st, 6-8:30
Thursday, November 3rd, 6-8:30
Tuesday, November 8th, 5-8:30
November 14th – 30th – Support and Facilitation Skills Workshops, dates and times TBA
Accessibility:
AVP strives to be as accessible as possible but acknowledge we are far from being truly accessible. These are some pieces we’ve implemented to attempt to increase accessibility for volunteers.
● Applications can be submitted online or in person
● Colouring, fidgeting, knitting, etc during workshop times encouraged if it’s helpful for you
● Self-care encouraged
● We invite you to inquire about content warnings prior to training if that would benefit you,
we strive to provide content warnings throughout the training process.
● The support line/room is open during training sessions for a quiet space to take a break or check in with a support person
● Childcare upon request
● Zoom sessions include auto-generated subtitles
● Gender-inclusive washrooms
● Training rooms are large in size and are mostly quiet but can be echoey and have lower levels of background noise including a fan
● There will be chairs without arms available in each of the rooms
● Wheelchair accessible training spaces and washrooms – please contact us for more specific information such as door widths.
● The Student Union Building is a designated scent-free space, however we are using shared spaces for training and cannot guarantee no residual scents will be present
● We strive to use only video with captioning
● Snacks will be provided by AVP at in person trainings- there is no requirement to bring food
● AVP has volunteer tasks that can be done from home or in person, dependent on comfort of volunteers, staff, and current guidelines.
● Many buses are close by and bus tickets available at each session and can be mailed prior to first session
We’d love to know what your accessibility needs are and how we can make this training accessible to you. Please contact Niko at or call our team at 778 400 500
with questions, comments, or concerns. Please contact us as soon as possible as some accessibility services (such as transcription or ASL translation) will need to be booked far ahead of training dates.If you are interested in joining us for volunteer training, please fill out the google form here. We look forward to hearing from you!
