Trainings
Our suite of trainings are personalized and results driven to help you or your advocate get the accountability you so richly deserve. Let us train you on the basics of a Trauma-Informed approach through our Lionhearted Safe Spaces: Trauma Informed Practices (TM, SM) trainings.
Together we rise
sexual harassment, discrimination and retaliation training
sexual harassment, discrimination and retaliation training
sexual harassment, discrimination and retaliation trainingWorkplace sexual harassment, discrimination and retaliation have existed long before the hashtag movements brought them to the forefront of our cultural lexicon, and while it is and has been illegal for decades, it still occurs at alarming rates.
It’s important to note, however, that many people don’t speak up about their experiences. Approximately 75 percent of people who experience harassment in the workplace don’t report it, because they fear retaliation or damage to their career, or they may think no one will believe them.
California law requires all employers with 5 or more employees to provide one hour of sexual harassment and abusive conduct prevention to non-supervisory employees, and two hours of sexual harassment and abusive conduct prevention training to supervisors and managers every two years. The law also requires the training to include practice examples of harassment based on gender identity, gender expression and sexual orientation.
And training providers are a dime a dozen. So, why choose us?
The answer is simple. The curriculum is created and presented by an award wining sexual assault and harassment victim’s rights attorney who knows where a plaintiffs’ attorney is going to attack based on your trainings, policies, and procedures. Moreover, the training is focused on prevention, and we ensure that it is effective because of its individual focus and overall cultural assessment of the workplace.
Here is how we do it differently.
- We Will Customize Training for Your Workplace
Your training will be in alignment with your organization’s mission and values and is consistent with your policies and practices (after we review them for sufficient).
- We Won’t Focus Just On Legal Compliance
We are not here to check the box for you on the statutory requirement to provide sexual harassment training. We will also address examples of behaviors that are not unlawful per se, but are unacceptable at work, moreover we let the workers know the consequences for exhibiting unlawful and unacceptable conduct.
- We Don’t Just Show the Obvious
Most sexual harassment training is a video with bad acting demonstrating obvious sexual harassment—this misses the mark. The real work is to dive into the more-nuanced situations that workers are likely to encounter and help them issue spot for unlawful and unacceptable conduct.
- We Help You Think About Your Training Goals
When developing a training program, we think backwards. We want your workforce and management to be able to identify and report the less severe issues so that HR can intervene and deal with misconduct so that it does not escalate. We will design a program that is focused on the root causes that makes sense for your environment.
- We Provide Ongoing Training And Implementation Consulting
Preventing sexual harassment, discrimination and retaliation is an ongoing mission. Holding additional training sessions and implementation meetings is key to creating a culture.
- Choose a Format, But It’s What Happens After That Matters
Whether the training is online or in person, (we suggest a combination) the ability to analyze the trends that are revealed after the trainings based on what the workers are asking about and what their responses are in group work during the training will create a road map for what happens next.
Trauma-Informed Training
TRAUMA INFORMED TRAINING
Statistics show that most people are likely to have at least one traumatic event in their lives, which will affect their cognitive functioning, emotionally well-being, and impact the way they perceive the world and relate to others.
Knowing out to deal with trauma survivors is key to any successful relationship. Let us train you on the basics of a Trauma-Informed approach. Being Trauma-Informed is an intentional method of understanding and interacting with people who have experienced trauma, and it is routed in neuroscience and based on the increasing recognition of the prevalence and negative impact of psychological trauma.
Behaviors such as aggression, violence, and self-harm reflecting histories of neglect, abuse and violence are not only distressing for those being impacted, but may also leave you and your organization feeling frustrated, helpless, and even frightened.
Some of the things that need to be taken into consideration when working with trauma is to:
- Focus on reducing the risk of exposure to trauma by creating safe, supportive, and inclusive environments.
- Use strategies to cushion the impact when exposure occurs.
- Provide culturally sensitive interventions to promote individual and community resilience.
Anyone will benefit from being informed about the impact of trauma. This is not only essential for the well-being of your clients, but also for those who provide services to trauma victims.
If your organization is interested in learning about trauma so that you can implement trauma sensitive policies and practices at all levels, our team can help by not only training you on Trauma-Informed basics but also build out a program on how to best implement the approach.
Support and Consultations For Sexual Assault Advocates
Support and Consultation For Sexual Assault Advocates
It is not always easy to know what to say when someone tells you that they have been sexually assaulted. For a survivor, revealing this private and traumatizing event to anyone can be emotionally difficult and retraumatizing, which may inhibit their ability to come forward and share their story. They may feel ashamed, worried that they will not be believed, or worse afraid that they will be blamed for their own assault.
If you are a new advocate, or an attorney just starting to work on these types of cases, you are not expected to immediately know the “right” answers and responses, but you must endeavor to find the resources to be able to provide that information, in a trauma-informed way. The Soaring Center offers strategies to help you along the way.
Effective advocacy entails knowing where your role begins and ends- and maintaining those clear boundaries. This is as much for the sexual assault survivor’s sake as it is for yours. Understanding the limits of the advocate’s role will help you avoid burn-out and keep the client focused on his or her own empowerment process.
If you need additional resources, help getting your client ready to tell their story, we are happy to provide resources that a collaboration with us provides. Let us help you help your client in a trauma informed way. We can get your clients ready to report to law enforcement, and testify either at a sentencing hearing, deposition, or trial. Having someone with decades of experience in this area of the law will help you achieve the best results for your client is a must do for any sexual assault advocate.