Conference “Better Understanding Slut-Shaming to Support Adolescents”
Registrations are now open for the symposium “Slut‑Shaming: Better Understanding This Phenomenon to Support Adolescents” which will take place on Thursday, April 2 2026, at the Longueuil campus of Université de Sherbrooke (UdeS). This one‑day event is jointly organized by the Research Group on Social Adaptation of Children (GRISE) at UdeS, the Interdisciplinary Research Centre on Intimate Relationship Problems and Sexual Assaults (CRIPCAS), and the Centre de recherche universitaire sur les jeunes et les familles (CRUJeF).
This symposium will bring together researchers, students and professionals working in practice settings, notably in education, health, and social services. Speakers will present their work aimed at deepening the understanding of slut‑shaming—its mechanisms, its consequences, and intervention strategies to support young people who experience it. The event will offer a rich, nuanced, and multidimensional perspective on a phenomenon that remains significantly understudied.
The day will open with contextual remarks by Alexa Martin‑Storey (UdeS), followed by a keynote lecture by Élisabeth Mercier (Université Laval) on the lived experiences of girls and young women.
Morning presentations will address the perpetration of slut‑shaming during adolescence and its links to other forms of aggression (Stéphanie Boutin, UQAM), the connections between slut‑shaming, sexist attitudes, and gender inequalities (Camille Guimond, UQAM), the prevalence of the phenomenon, tools used to assess it, and its impacts in school settings (Alexa Martin‑Storey, UdeS), help‑seeking challenges among adolescent girls who experience slut‑shaming (René‑Marc Lavigne, UdeS) and the role of internalized sexualization and sexist beliefs in peer victimization (Y‑Lane Noémie Zaine, UdeS).
In the afternoon, a roundtable discussion titled “How Does Slut‑Shaming Influence Our Understanding of Adolescent Sexuality?” will bring together professors and researchers Sophie Bergeron (UdeM), Jacinthe Dion (UQTR), Mylène Fernet (UQAM), and Katherine Pascuzzo (UdeS), moderated by Geneviève Paquette (UdeS). The program will also include a presentation offering a restorative perspective for addressing slut‑shaming in schools (Holly Recchia, Concordia; Laura Pareja Conto, McGill), followed by a closing workshop‑lecture by Casey Burkholder (Concordia) exploring the educational and relational possibilities opened by queer, polyamorous, and sex‑positive approaches.
Registration is now open.