NSB Logo Farrah Khan Farrah Khan

Farrah Khan

Speaker Exclusive

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Gender Justice Advocate & Equity Leader

Farrah brings compassion, joy, and impact to some of today’s most complex conversations about gender-based violence, equity and inclusion. She is recognized across North America for her groundbreaking work in supporting survivors of sexual violence, advocating alongside with marginalized communities, and leading institutional and systemic change. She is a trusted advisor to government and organizations on violence against women issues and speaks with thousands of students each year about the vital need to build campuses where consent comes first. As the founder and CEO of Possibilities Seeds, she is delivering the first-ever national, collaborative strategy to prevent and address gender-based violence at Canadian universities and colleges, Courage to Act. In 2022, she was named a recipient of the Governor General’s Awards in Commemoration of the Persons Case, and more recently, has joined Action Canada as the newly appointed Executive Director.

Keynote Speeches

Virtual Keynotes & Webinars
Contact us for more information about this speaker & their virtual presentations. Click here for some of the most popular formats for virtual events.
Business & HR | Building Consent Culture & Communication Skills in the Workplace

Now that offices and social settings are opening up, we could all use a reminder on how to set boundaries and practice consent with friends, coworkers, and anyone else we engage with.   

This is especially true as many organizations shift from remote to in-office working environments. Not sure if your colleague is comfortable with a hug or handshake? Struggling with how to ask your manager to wear a mask at work?

Farrah Khan shares how the pandemic has underscored the importance of practicing consent throughout our daily lives, both in-person and online.

In her entertaining and informative style, Farrah shares how we can best set & communicate boundaries and practice consent, and how organizations can create safe environments for their teams. In addition to prevention, Farrah will discuss how organizations and individuals can address and respond to harm when it does happen.

Farrah notes that we’ve seen higher rates of workplace harassment reported during the pandemic. As people reorient to in-person office culture after an extended period of restrictions, remote work, and reduced communication about what is and isn’t appropriate, this is an important time to revisit how to make our workplaces safer.

“At our team, we always say consent comes first everywhere. No matter if it’s an interaction with a friend, a family member, a loved one, or a co-worker.
Consent is always a part of it.” Farrah Khan

Sample Takeaways:

  • How to communicate your boundaries and practice consent with others.
     
  • How to establish policies and procedures that make your team feel safe at work.
     
  • Learn the B.R.A.V.E. model for responding to disclosures of harm and harassment.
Business & HR | Addressing Workplace Consent & Harassment

From movie sets to bars to the boardroom, there is an unprecedented conversation about sexual harassment in the workplace happening in North America.

This keynote and/or interactive workshop is an opportunity to talk about sexual harassment and how the changes to the Occupational Health and Safety Act impact employees. Drawing from two decades of experience as an educator, counsellor and policy advisor, Farrah Khan will share tangible ways to be an effective ally to prevent and address harm.

Together with participants she establishes a shared language about the continuum of gender-based violence and consent.

Using scenarios and pop culture references, participants will explore how to connect with their peers, “call in” individuals, and support survivors.

You will leave equipped with meaningful skills to recognize the signs of workplace violence and harassment, respond effectively to disclosure and how to refer to appropriate resources.

 

Social Change | Cultivating Brave Spaces

From campuses, to workplaces, to our homes, there is an unprecedented dialogue in North America about sexual violence. It’s time to explore how and what we  have been taught about relationships, sex and justice. How do we flirt, handle rejection, or say yes to ourselves? What do we do when we have a crush, learn a friend has caused harm, or things get weird in a relationship and maybe feel unsafe? Drawing from two decades of experience in addressing sexual violence as an educator, counsellor and policy advisor, Farrah Khan shares tangible ways to actively intervene to prevent sexual violence. Beyond prevention, Farrah shares strategies to respond effectively to disclosures of sexual violence and work with those who have caused harm. Join her to envision possibilities for cultivating gender justice in our communities and institutions.

Campus | Creating Campuses Where Consent Comes First

There is an unprecedented degree of conversation in North America on sexual violence at post-secondary campuses. Drawing from two decades of experience in addressing sexual violence as an educator, counsellor and policy advisor, Farrah shares how educators and staff can proactively address sexual violence on campuses. As a recognized leader in the field, she provides tangible tools to actively intervene to prevent sexual violence. Beyond prevention, Farrah shares strategies to respond effectively to disclosures of sexual violence and work with those who have caused harm. Using examples from her own work, Farrah establishes a shared language about the continuum of sexual violence, myths of harassment, consent and trauma. She demystifies complicated regulations and procedures to ensure the greatest level of accessibility of the issue. Participants will leave inspired with meaningful strategies to engage faculty, staff and students to take an active role in preventing sexual violence.

Campus | Pleasure Principles: Cultivating Consent, Accountability and Empathy on Campus 

Talking about consent and pleasure can be awkward. Too often there is an expectation that youth should automatically know how to communicate boundaries, be accountable to their peers and handle rejection. The reality is many young people struggle with knowing what to say or do when things get weird and maybe feel unsafe. Prioritizing fun and pleasure over shame and fear, Farrah shares principles that help students better navigate through these experiences. Through storytelling and pop culture examples, Farrah uses her research and sense of humour to help students understand how sex and relationships are a collaboration not a conquest. She will also share ways for students to intervene in situations that could lead to sexual violence and support others when they disclose their experience. Farrah skillfully facilitates inclusive discussions that leave students entertained and inspired with tangible tools that prevent sexual violence on campus.

Platform Plus Presentations

Unique formats and ways to connect with audiences.
Panelist/In Conversation
Farrah's background allows her to bring fascinating insights and lively discussion on a range of topics including: the nature of consent; the silencing around sexual violence takes place within the LGBT community; how race plays such a huge factor in how the media addresses both survivors and perpetrators of sexual assault; and how the very words we use to speak about sex affect our understanding of the issues.
Workshop | Cultivating Consent Culture in the Workplace
This interactive workshop addresses the changes to the Occupational Health and Safety Act for employers and employees. Through a participatory session using public scenarios and pop culture references, you'll learn and explore: 1 - Tangible ways to be an effective ally to prevent and address harm. 2 - Effective language for addressing the continuum of gender-based violence and consent. 3 - How to connect with your peers and support survivors. 4 - How to source effective resources to help. You will leave equipped with meaningful skills to recognize the signs of workplace violence and harassment and respond effectively to disclosure .
Workshop | Caring for Yourself is a Radical Act
Managing social media accounts for a large institution can mean navigating a daily onslaught of abuse and hate including racism, sexism, homophobia. Addressing trauma exposure that frontline workers experience is part of providing good customer service. This workshop is for people within the digital team to explore ways that help sustain your energy and spirit in the workplace. Participants will leave with easy to implement tools to expand their self-care and maintenance practices.

Audience reviews:

  • Miss Khan handled the subject with delicacy...She offered examples to inspire...and her keynote gave those in attendance a lot to think about... It underscored the importance in providing a space in our communities where conversations can take place addressing sexual violence. And that while we all should speak out on the issue, our first step must be to listen. - The Martlet, University of Victoria
  • The event went really well and Farrah did an excellent presentation. We received a lot of very positive feedback. There was some last-minute confusion regarding the interactive survey she wanted to use but she handled things very calmly and adapted to the circumstances with great aplomb. Someone mentioned this morning that her calm presentation style had been much appreciated. All in all, a very successful event attended by over 600 people. - Chief Audit and Evaluation Executive and Senior Integrity Officer, Transport Canada

Speaker Biography

Farrah Khan is recognized across North America for her groundbreaking work in supporting survivors of sexual violence, advocating alongside marginalized communities, and leading institutional and systemic change. She was named a recipient of the 2022 Governor General’s Awards in Commemoration of the Persons Case, in national recognition of her exemplary contributions to the promotion of gender equality. Recently, Farrah has joined Action Canada as the newly appointed Executive Director, an organization committed to promoting health, well-being, and rights related to sexuality and reproduction. 

For more than two decades, Farrah has raised awareness about gender-based violence and equity intersections through education, policy, art, and advocacy. Previously, she led the survivor support and education team at Toronto Metropolitan University, Consent Comes First, and is the founder and CEO of Possibilities Seeds, a Canadian social change consultancy dedicated to gender justice and human rights. 

Speaking with heart, passion and humour, Farrah has inspired and engaged thousands through creative and accessible training, education and awareness initiatives. Her work has helped organizations and individuals recognize and address workplace wellness, leadership, harassment, gender-based violence, consent, bystander intervention, trauma and disclosures.  

Farrah’s subject-matter knowledge and collaborative approach have established her as a trusted advisor to government, organizations, companies and policy leaders. In 2015, she was appointed chair of Ontario’s first permanent provincial roundtable on violence against women and is a member of the Government of Canada’s Advisory Council on the Strategy to Prevent and Address Gender-Based Violence, and the Ontario Human Rights Commission Community Advisory in 2016. In a 2018 address to G7 global leaders, Farrah insisted that thriving, sustainable and peaceful economies are impossible without concrete action on gender equity.  

As Canada’s leading expert on addressing sexual violence and gender-based violence in universities and colleges, Farrah speaks with thousands of students each year about the vital need to build campuses where consent comes first. Through her social change consultancy, Possibility Seeds, Farrah co-wrote the groundbreaking Courage to Act report for the federal government. This led to the first-ever national collaboration of 3,500 stakeholders and over 170 of Canada’s top GBV experts and advocates to address gender-based violence on campuses across the country. To date, the five-year project has created 45  practical and accessible resources, 65 community-based education programs, and X evidence-based research projects. 

As an educator, Farrah has created innovative tools, including a bystander intervention program, survivor colouring books, comic books, podcasts, legal guides and the BRAVE disclosure model that is used across North America by educational institutions, community organizations and sexual assault crisis centres. In 2011, she co-created the Use the Right Words: Media Reporting on Sexual Violence Toolkit. A decade later, Farrah continues working with media organizations, journalism schools and communications professionals to strengthen trauma-informed reporting. She has led numerous gender-equity campaigns in partnership with other feminists, including the #WeBelieveSurvivors campaign in response to the Jian Ghomeshi trial. The hashtag became a rallying cry that dominated social media and reframed public discourse on sexual violence.

Farrah is a sought-after contributor to national media, including the CBC’s flagship programs, The National and The Current, Maclean’s, Chatelaine, and VICE Magazine. Her writing has appeared in Refinery 29, Toronto Star and The Globe and Mail. As a queer Muslim woman, mother and entrepreneur, Farrah knows the challenges of speaking truth to power intimately. She uses her platform to create space to mentor and amplify young feminist groups to engage with mainstream media and lobby policymakers, including High School Too and We Give Consent. 

Farrah has received numerous awards, including the Toronto Community Foundation’s Vital People Award and Girl Guides of Canada. She holds a combined double major from York University in Women’s Studies and Environmental Studies, and a Masters of Social Work from the University of Toronto.

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