Constellation: Toward a Positive and Equal Intimate World 

Topics covered: intimate relationships, sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), awareness, support, sexual and gender diversity, cultural diversity 

Constellation is an innovative program, created with, by and for students, that engages the entire college and university community in promoting positive intimate relationships, and preventing violence within them. It responds to a troubling reality: as early as 2018, 61% of young people aged 18 to 25 reported experiencing at least one form of intimate partner violence in the previous year.² Yet these young people most often turn to their peers for help — peers who, lacking the proper tools or knowledge, don’t always know how to respond.¹ 

Constellation: “Toward a Positive and Equal Intimate World” 

The Constellation project is an ambitious Francophone initiative that places students at the heart of change. Designed with, by and for young people, the project emphasizes collective engagement, active listening, and co-creation for safer, more respectful and more inclusive college and university environments. 

The initiative is built around two key pillars: 

• Raising awareness across the entire college community — students as well as staff — about violence in intimate relationships, while considering sexual, gender, regional, and cultural diversity. 

• Supporting and equipping young people who are experiencing difficult situations or questioning their relationships, through an online training accessible to both students and staff — so that everyone can respond to disclosures with empathy and provide appropriate support. 

A ready-to-use program 

Constellation is a comprehensive program designed to strengthen the capacity of postsecondary institutions to prevent and respond to violence in intimate relationships, as well as to foster supportive responses — and avoid harmful ones. Each tool is carefully designed to encourage meaningful, nuanced, and student-centred conversations that reflect the diverse realities of campus life: 

• Educational podcast episodes that address students’ concerns, including communication, sexuality, and violence in relationships. 

• A facilitation guide with 5 ready-to-use activities to support facilitators in raising awareness among students about positive intimate relationships and violence within them. 

• A 75-minute online training designed to help students and staff recognize unhealthy relationships, respond to disclosures, and act as active bystanders. 

• A support guide for the training and supervision of active bystanders in the prevention of violence in intimate relationships. This guide is accompanied by a training session and a reference sheet. 

Focus on the Facilitation Guide 

The facilitation guide of ready-to-use activities is intended for any French-speaking person working with students in Quebec’s postsecondary institutions. It offers an interactive approach to promoting healthy and egalitarian relationships, as well as preventing violence within them. The explanations are clear, accessible, and engaging, accompanied by an online training to help facilitators feel confident delivering this type of content. 

Its five modular activities, supported by multimedia materials, also double as communication tools, enabling diverse and more engaging awareness-raising among young people. 

The proposed activities include:  

• A quiz on intimate relationships to raise awareness of the different forms of violence that can occur; 

• “Fill-in-the-blank conversations” to unpack the grey areas of consent and its many dimensions; 

• An activity using red, grey, and green flags to identify healthy or harmful behaviors in romantic and friendly relationships; 

• An interactive game focused on positive communication and responding supportively to disclosure; 

• A booth to create a “choose-your-own-adventure” style story; 

• A bonus artistic activity to wrap up the workshop in a creative way! 

Contact 

The project is led by Mylène Fernet and Martine Hébert, full professors in the Department of Sexology at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM). They are affiliated, respectively, with the Laboratory for the Study of Violence and Sexuality and the Canada Research Chair on Interpersonal Trauma and Resilience. The project is supported through funding from Quebec’s Ministry of Higher Education. 

• Martine Hébert, Ph.D, [email protected] 

• Mylène Fermet, Ph.D, [email protected]