[Grad-Cap Icon] Training

Safe Zone is a 2-hour training workshop offered to faculty, staff, and students of the VCU Community. Safe Zone provides didactic and experiential opportunities for participants to: - Increasing their awareness of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning, Intersex, Asexual (LGBTQQIA+) communities and identities. - Deepen their understanding of sex, gender, and sexuality, while also considering other intersecting identities (e.g., race, ethnicity, religious/spiritual orientation). - Recognize the unique concerns/challenges (e.g., heterosexism, biphobia, transphobia) that LGBTQQIA+ (or Queer) people endure at VCU and in society at large. - Build skills to advocate for and assist Queer staff and students with concerns that might emerge on campus. - Examine and challenge their biases, assumptions, prejudice, and privilege in relation to different sexual and gender identities. Workshops are co-led by facilitators from University Counseling Services and other campus departments (e.g., OMSA, Equality VCU), all of whom have been previously Safe Zone trained.