Tools to Understand, Prevent, and Respond to Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in Work Integrated Learning Environments

September 2025

SGBV in WIL Toolkit

This toolkit is for University of Alberta employees who administer or facilitate work-integrated learning programs. The tools contained here are designed to:

promote awareness of the problem of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) in the work-integrated learning (WIL) environment;
clarify roles and responsibilities regarding the prevention of SGBV in the WIL environment; and
clarify options for response to a disclosure of SGBV in the WIL environment.
offer suggestions to apply the SGBV Policy in trauma-informed, intersectional and survivor-driven ways.

Tools have been divided into three categories: Awareness and Preparation, Prevention, and Disclosure and Response, and developed for three audiences:

Facilitators and Administrators (dark green puzzle pieces),
Learners, (light green puzzle pieces) and
Partners (teal puzzle pieces).

University resources are marked with yellow puzzle pieces, and tools applicable to facilitators, learners and partners are marked with multi-coloured puzzle pieces.

This toolkit is specifically designed for contexts in which:

students are learners in an off-campus work environment;
placed with or situated in a partner or organization external to the classroom;
as a required component of a course or their academic program; and
the student is supervised by an individual other than their course instructor/program supervisor.

While the tools are specific to SGBV in WIL, please consider their utility in the context of other forms of interpersonal harm, such as harassment, violence, racism, and bullying, as well as more generally in other types of experiential learning.

How to use these tools

This toolkit is not a comprehensive guide or framework to address sexual and gender-based violence in the work-integrated learning environment. It is intended to assist WIL program administrators and facilitators to ensure their practice aligns and is applied consistently with the SGBV Policy and the university's approach to SGBV.

In general:

Where a WIL Experience is on campus, or governed by a more formal agreement, the toolkit may not be necessary. The idea is to use the tools only as needed.
The tools are designed to apply generally across the institution's WIL programs, with general Key Definitions reflected in the tools.
The tools are designed in Google Docs to be adaptable to specific WIL programs, and can be edited to reflect the terminology of the specific learning environment, including, for example, changing the generic terms to the specific language your program uses.
You must make a copy of the document in order to edit it, and note that it has been modified by clicking the checkbox at the top of the page.
The tools are designed to work together in an interlocking fashion. Where there is a related tool, you will see a puzzle piece graphic like those below and a link.
The tools are also designed to share with WIL Learners and WIL Partners as you see fit; they are not policy documents. They are intended to clarify and aid in understanding the issues; if they do not fit in your context, you are not required to use them.
Should there be a conflict between any of these tools and University policy, the policy will take precedence every time.

Legend:

Tools for WIL Facilitators and Administrators

For University of Alberta employees who coordinate, administer and advise students in work integrated learning settings

Tools for WIL Learners

For students in work-integrated learning settings

Tools for WIL Partners

For those who work with and mentor work integrated learning students

Tools for All

Consist of information for WIL Facilitators, Administrators, Learners and Partners

University Resources

To support awareness and preparation, prevention and response.

Navigating the Toolkit

You can find the tools organized by Theme (awareness, prevention, or response) or by Audience (tools for WIL Administrators/Facilitator, Learners, or Partners)

See the Terms of Reference and the Interim Report from the Working Group on SGBV in WIL. Site updated: September 23, 2025

For feedback or questions, email expwil@ualberta.ca.

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