Discussion Group Guidelines

While the discussions provide excellent opportunities to socialize and meet new people, the group is facilitated following guidelines reflective of the group’s roots in providing peer support. While individuals are invited to share their own personal thoughts, stories and experiences during the discussions, the group is not intended to provide counselling or therapy and therefore we do not focus on one person’s issues and try to solve them.

The primary principle underlying the guidelines for the WNDG is the creation of a safe, comfortable and confidential environment for the discussion of topics relating to sexuality and gender identity. To help facilitate the creation of this environment some of the specific rules for the group are as follows:

• While everyone is encouraged to participate in the discussion, those in attendance are welcome to listen only.
• Confidentiality is a primary concern for many individuals seeking peer support. Participants do not have to reveal their real names and are asked neither to repeat details from discussions nor reveal the identities of any other participants, outside the room, without the individual’s express permission.
• Participants are asked to:
  • Avoid generalizations about others.
  • Try to ensure all participants have equal access to speaking time.
  • Refrain from individual conversations or whispering with people around them. 
  • Be comfortable with occasional silence. 
  • Not use laptops, cell phones, wireless devices or write notes during the discussion (some individuals are concerned about recording or taking notes about the discussion).
  • Respect other participants by responding to the views expressed without attacking the person expressing them.

Important Disclaimer!

The WNDG facilitators are peer volunteers (i.e., not trained counsellors) and while they do their best to ensure the guidelines are followed, the group does operate on an honour system. That is to say, all participants are expected to follow the WNDG guidelines, though there is no way to ensure that the guidelines (including the expectation of confidentiality) will be followed by all participants – especially outside of scheduled discussions.

If anyone feels that any guidelines of the WNDG are not being followed, they should speak with a facilitator as soon as possible or e-mail wndg-owner <at> lists.uwaterloo.ca (replace the <at> with the @ sign) with the details of their concern. The facilitator will follow-up with the individuals or entire group as appropriate.

While every effort is made to resolve any concerns in a fair and equitable manner for all participants, individuals who have violated the guidelines may be asked by facilitators not to attend future discussions if their actions are preventing the creation of a safe, comfortable and confidential environment for participants.