Rika Sawatsky
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Designing Trauma- and Violence-Informed Policies, Training, and Response Plans to Address Intimate Partner Violence at Work
This Webinar was presented and recorded on December 9, 2025
This webinar, part of the Learning Network & Knowledge Hub (LN/KH) Webinar Series and co-hosted with Respect at Work is grounded in a real-life arbitration case and invites participants to examine how a trauma- and violence-informed (TVI) lens might have changed an employer’s response to an employee experiencing intimate partner violence. The webinar explores what a TVI analysis would have revealed about the survivors needs and barriers to participation in the accommodation process.
Understanding these dynamics can also further help service providers potential barriers and more effectively support survivors in navigating workplace responses. Building on these insights, the session will reverse-engineer the employer's legally required workplace violence program to identify policy and procedural measures that could have recognized risks and warning signs of IPV earlier , reduced harm, and strengthened support for survivors.
Webinar Recording
Learning Objectives
By participating in this webinar, participants will:
- Identify the unique barriers that survivors— including those who are racialized, rural, or otherwise marginalized—face when seeking support for intimate partner violence at work
- Enhance standard template workplace violence policies to make them more trauma- and violence-informed and survivor-centred
- Deepen understanding of workplace violence procedures and legislative obligations, and how these shape the experiences of employees experiencing intimate partner violence
Speaker
Rika Sawatsky (she/her) is a workplace lawyer, trainer, investigator, and gender equity consultant based in Toronto. Rika's work bridges law, research, and practice to help organizations build safer, more inclusive workplaces that last. Her programs are grounded in trauma- and violence-informed principles, adult learning theory, and evidence-based approaches to equity and inclusion. Whether she's designing a policy, facilitating a training, or conducting an investigation, Rika focuses on durable, people-centred systems that empower organizations to respond effectively and sustain change over time. A biracial Japanese-Canadian feminist, she brings both legal insight and lived experience to every project. Rika’s core services include inclusive workplace design, harassment and violence training and mitigation, investigations, parental leave administration, and gender audits.
Élaboration de politiques, de formations et de plans d’intervention tenant compte des traumatismes et de la violence pour faire face à la violence entre partenaires intimes au travail
Ce Webinaire a été présenté et enregistré le 9 décembre 2025.
Ce webinaire, faisant partie de la série de webinaires du Learning Network et Centre de connaissances (LN/CC) et co-animé avec Respect au travail, est fondé sur un véritable cas d’arbitrage. Il invite les participant.e.s à examiner comment une perspective tenant compte des traumatismes et de la violence (TCTV) aurait pu influencer la réponse d’un employeur face à une employée en situation de violence entre partenaires intimes. Le webinaire explore ce qu’une analyse TCTV aurait révélé sur les besoins de la survivante et les obstacles à sa participation au processus de mesures d’adaptation.
Comprendre ces dynamiques peut également aider les fournisseurs de services à anticiper les obstacles potentiels et à mieux soutenir les survivantes dans leurs démarches face aux réponses du milieu de travail. S’appuyant sur ces informations, la séance procédera à une « rétro-ingénierie » du programme de prévention de la violence en milieu de travail que l’employeur est tenu d’offrir en vertu de la loi, afin de cerner les mesures politiques et procédurales qui auraient pu reconnaître plus tôt les risques et les signes avant-coureurs de VPI, réduire les préjudices et renforcer le soutien aux survivantes.
Enregistrement du Webinaire
Objectifs d'apprentissage
Ce webinaire permet aux participantes de :
- Cerner les obstacles uniques auxquels les survivantes – y compris celles qui sont racialisées, en milieu rural ou autrement marginalisées – sont confrontées lorsqu’elles cherchent du soutien pour la violence entre partenaires intimes au travail
- Améliorer les politiques types déjà en place de violence au travail pour qu’elles tiennent davantage compte des traumatismes et de la violence et soient centrées sur les survivantes
- Approfondir la compréhension des procédures de violence au travail et des obligations législatives, et comment celles-ci façonnent les expériences des employé.e.s en situation de violence entre partenaires intimes
Biographie du présentateur
Rika Sawatsky (elle) est une avocate en droit du travail, formatrice, enquêtrice et consultante en équité de genre, située à Toronto. Le travail de Rika fait le pont entre le droit, la recherche et la pratique pour aider les organismes à créer des environnements de travail plus sûrs et inclusifs à long terme. Ses programmes sont ancrés dans des principes tenant compte des traumatismes et de la violence, la théorie de l’apprentissage des adultes et des approches fondées sur des données probantes en matière d’équité et d’inclusion. Qu’elle conçoive une politique, anime une formation ou mène une enquête, Rika se concentre sur des systèmes durables et centrés sur les personnes qui permettent aux organismes de répondre efficacement et de maintenir le changement dans le temps. En tant que féministe japonaise-canadienne biraciale, elle apporte à chaque projet à la fois une perspective juridique et une expérience vécue.
Les services principaux de Rika comprennent la conception de lieux de travail inclusifs, la formation et l’atténuation du harcèlement et de la violence, ainsi que les enquêtes, l’administration du congé parental et les audits en matière de genre.
Designing Trauma- and Violence-Informed Policies, Training, and Response Plans to Address Intimate Partner Violence at Work
This Webinar was presented and recorded on December 9, 2025
This webinar, part of the Learning Network & Knowledge Hub (LN/KH) Webinar Series and co-hosted with Respect at Work is grounded in a real-life arbitration case and invites participants to examine how a trauma- and violence-informed (TVI) lens might have changed an employer’s response to an employee experiencing intimate partner violence. The webinar explores what a TVI analysis would have revealed about the survivors needs and barriers to participation in the accommodation process.
Understanding these dynamics can also further help service providers potential barriers and more effectively support survivors in navigating workplace responses. Building on these insights, the session will reverse-engineer the employer's legally required workplace violence program to identify policy and procedural measures that could have recognized risks and warning signs of IPV earlier , reduced harm, and strengthened support for survivors.
Webinar Recording
By participating in this webinar, participants will:
- Identify the unique barriers that survivors— including those who are racialized, rural, or otherwise marginalized—face when seeking support for intimate partner violence at work
- Enhance standard template workplace violence policies to make them more trauma- and violence-informed and survivor-centred
- Deepen understanding of workplace violence procedures and legislative obligations, and how these shape the experiences of employees experiencing intimate partner violence
Speaker
Rika Sawatsky (she/her) is a workplace lawyer, trainer, investigator, and gender equity consultant based in Toronto. Rika's work bridges law, research, and practice to help organizations build safer, more inclusive workplaces that last. Her programs are grounded in trauma- and violence-informed principles, adult learning theory, and evidence-based approaches to equity and inclusion. Whether she's designing a policy, facilitating a training, or conducting an investigation, Rika focuses on durable, people-centred systems that empower organizations to respond effectively and sustain change over time. A biracial Japanese-Canadian feminist, she brings both legal insight and lived experience to every project. Rika’s core services include inclusive workplace design, harassment and violence training and mitigation, investigations, parental leave administration, and gender audits.
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