Please read the consent information below for additional information about the study.

Principal Investigator:

• Dr. Elizabeth Quinlan, Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Saskatchewan. Phone: 306-966-6937; Email: elizabeth.quinlan@usask.ca

Co-Investigators:

• Dr. Andrea Quinlan, Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology & Legal Studies, University of Waterloo. Phone: 519-888-4567, ext. 47645; Email: andrea.quinlan@uwaterloo.ca

• Dr. Curtis Fogel, Associate Professor, Department of Sports Management, Brock University. Phone: 905-688-5550, ext. 4617; Email: cfogel@brocku.ca

Project Coordinator:

• Jennifer W. Webber Forrest, Research Associate, Department of Sociology, University of Saskatchewan. Email: jennifer.webberforrest@usask.ca or CampusSV.researchproject@usask.ca

Purpose and Objective of the Research:

• The purpose of this phase of our research study is to use the techniques of Participatory Theatre to explore how universities respond to sexual violence on campus and how these policies, procedures and practices can be informed by the experiences and insights of end-users. It is not the purpose of the study to explore or resolve trauma experienced by individual sexual violence survivors, but rather the institutional response to sexual violence.  

Procedures:

• During the Zoom Videoconferencing Forums, we will observe social interactions that develop participants’ shared understandings of institutional responses to sexual violence on campus. We will use video and audio recording and take summary notes of the forums to collect these observations.  Recordings will be saved to the Principal Investigator’s local computer that is USask managed to secure content of the recordings.  To ensure anonymity, all identifying information (e.g., your name and the names of your colleagues, friends, family members, etc.) will be stripped from the transcribed tapes and replaced by pseudonyms.  The audio tapes will be transcribed by a member of the research team who is bound by a confidentiality agreement.  Should a third party be contracted to transcribe the audio tapes they will be required to sign a confidentiality agreement. 

• Participatory Theatre consultant(s) will facilitate the virtual forums along with 4-6 professional actors from the Mixed Company Theatre team.  Members of the research team will be in attendance at the forums.  The professional actors will re-enact the multi-character scenarios co-created in workshop phase of this project and forum spectators will be invited to volunteer to replace the actors and develop new directions in the dramatic action of the scenarios to stimulate large-group discussion of the potentials and limitations of the strategies developed in the workshops.  During the forum(s), you and other forum participants will evaluate potentials and limitations of strategies for their effectiveness in light of key elements of the scenarios and the ensuing spectators’ on stage replacements and large-group discussions.     

• Each forum is facilitated within the virtual environment of Zoom Videoconferencing technology and is approximately two hours in length.

• You will be asked to complete a short, anonymous, five question demographic survey online before participating in the forum(s). You are welcome to skip any questions in this survey that you do not feel comfortable answering. Because we will not be able to identify individual responses, it will not be possible to remove your survey responses once you have submitted your survey.

• Please feel free to ask any questions regarding the procedures and goals of the study or your role.

Funded by:

• Canadian Institutes of Health Research

Potential Risks:

• Due to the focus of the study, it is possible some participants may feel some emotional distress. However, you do not have to take part in any of the activities if you do not want to. You can take a break at any time for instance if you get tired, do not feel well or feel you need a break. You do not have to provide a reason for taking a break and will suffer no negative consequences for doing so. Please note that turning off your audio/video does not constitute leaving the study. If you feel you need support during the forum(s), a trained sexual assault counsellor will be immediately available to meet with you in a Zoom breakout room. Alternatively, you may find counselling services at an anti-violence centre in your province: https://casac.ca/anti-violence-centres/

Potential Benefits:

• While not guaranteed, participation in the forums may benefit you directly as you have the potential of gaining greater understanding of institutional responses to sexual violence on campuses and how those responses may be informed by the knowledge and experiences of end-users. 

Confidentiality:

• The researcher will undertake to safeguard the confidentiality of the discussion, but cannot guarantee that other members of the group will do so.  Please respect the confidentiality of the other members of the group by not disclosing the contents of this discussion outside the group, and be aware that others may not respect your confidentiality.

• The Zoom Videoconferencing technology used for the forums uses private login usernames and passwords for participants.  It also uses Secure Socket Layer encryption and AES 256-GCM encryption and provides role-based access control and admin feature controls.  It is important to recognize that no online provider can fully eliminate security risks associated with the transmission of personal information through online transactions, and the use of online services necessarily entails some degree of risk. Additional information for security and privacy policies for Zoom Videoconferencing technology may be accessed at: https://zoom.us/docs/doc/Zoom-Security-White-Paper.pdf

• Forum videoconferences will be conducted in a private area of the researchers’, facilitator and professional actors homes or office that will not be accessible by individuals outside of the research team.  It is recommended that research participants also conduct their participation in the forum videoconference from a location in their home or office that is not accessible by other persons. 

• The data from this research project will be published in academic journals, practitioner pamphlets or brochures and presented at conferences; however, your identity will be kept confidential. Although direct quotations may be reported from the discussions, all identifying information (i.e., your name, names of family, co-workers and patients or residents), will be removed from the report. Demographic data will be reported in an aggregated or summarized form so that it will not be possible to identify individuals. 

Storage of Data:  

• The consent forms will be stored separately from the data from the forum and will only be connected through the use of a master list maintained by the project coordinator and principle investigator and stored separately from the consent forms and data.  The master list will be destroyed beyond recovery when it is no longer required for data analysis. Consent forms and data will be stored on the Principal Investigator’s password protected USask managed computer and moved to a secure USask system for analysis and long-term storage, e.g. OneDrive or DataStore. Data for this project will be stored a minimum of five years post publication and dissemination.      

Right to Withdraw: 

• Your participation is voluntary and you can participate in only those discussions that you are comfortable with. You may turn off your microphone and/or video at any time without giving reason if you do not want to be recorded.  Turning off the microphone or video is not the same as leaving the study.  You may withdraw from the research project for any reason, without explanation or penalty of any sort. Should you wish to withdraw, you may leave the group meeting at any time; however, data that have already been collected cannot be withdrawn as it forms part of the context for information provided by other participants.

• Whether you choose to participate or not will have no effect on your position (e.g., employment, access to services) or how you will be treated.

Follow up:

• To obtain results from the study, please contact the project coordinator and/or the principle investigator using the contact information provided at the top of this consent form. 

Questions or Concerns:

• Contact the researcher(s) using the information at the top of page 1.

• This research project has been reviewed and received ethics clearance from the University of Saskatchewan Behavioural Research Ethics Board (BEH-REB 2593), Brock University Office of Research Ethics (21-024-Quinlan), and the University of Waterloo Research Ethics Board (REB #43667). Any questions regarding your rights as a participant may be addressed to the University of Saskatchewan Research Ethics Office: ethics.office@usask.ca; 306-966-2975 or 1-888-966-2975; the Brock University Office of Research Ethics 905-688-5550 ext. 3035; or the University of Waterloo Office of Research Ethics at 1-519-888-4567 ext. 36005 or reb@uwaterloo.ca.