Upcoming webinar presented by Centre for Research & Education on Violence Against Women & Children.
Workplace Harassment and Violence Against 2SLGBTQIA+ Populations: Microaggressions as a Form of Gender-Based Violence
Presented by: Christine Wildman
Date | Time: Wednesday, March 19, 2025 | 1:00 to 2:30 pm Eastern Time (ET)
For those working in the gender-based violence (GBV) sector, understanding the unique challenges faced by 2SLGBTQIA+ populations in the workplace is crucial to providing comprehensive support, advocacy and safety at work. Microaggressions, rooted in assumptions of heterosexuality and binary gender norms, represent a pervasive form of GBV that often goes unaddressed in professional settings. These subtle, often unconscious behaviors-such as misgendering, invasive questions, assumptions about gender roles, outing colleagues, or inappropriate jokes – can have significant psychological and professional impacts on 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals.
Workplaces often mirror, societal structures that privilege heterosexual and cisgender identities, perpetuating harm through exclusionary practices. Examples include language that assumes heterosexuality, forms and policies limited to binary gender categories, and a lack of accommodations for diverse gender identities and expressions. These microaggressions, not only undermine individual well-being, but also contribute to systematic GBV by reinforcing the marginalization and erasure of 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals.
This session will equip GBV professionals with the knowledge to address these issues within their organizations.
Learning Objectives
By attending this Webinar, participants will explore:
- The intersection of workplace microaggressions and GBV
- The specific impacts of microaggressions on 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals, including mental health, job performance, and workplace safety
- Strategies for fostering inclusive, and affirming work environments, both within GBV organizations, and in the broader workplace where survivors may be employed
Christine Wildman (they/them) is a queer, critical feminist, activist and academic. Christine is invested in community organizing, working on various initiatives related to creating community, space, visibility, safety, and acceptance for 2SLGBTQIA+ people. Christine co-founded WorQshop: Building Safer Spaces, a non-profit organization that provides education and consultations services to organizations that aim to become more inclusive to 2SLGBTQIA+ populations. They are a critical community-engaged researcher with a PhD in Sociology, specializing in Identities and Social Inclusion. Christine’s research and teaching has focused on 2SLGBTQIA+ rights/needs, experiences of intimate partner violence, and access to services and community in small to medium populations centres, as well as violence against women and gender diverse populations. Christine is also a Research and Knowledge Mobilization specialist for the Neighbours, Friends and Families campaign, which is a provincial IPV prevention campaign, out of the Centre for Research and Education on Violence Against Women and Children.