Get Warning To All Readers

Examples of sensitive content: Sexual assault. Abuse. Child abuse/pedophilia/incest. Animal cruelty or animal death. Self-harm and suicide. Eating disorders, body hatred, and fat phobia. Violence. ographic content.

This content is disturbing, so I encourage everyone to prepare themselves emotionally before proceeding. If you believe that the reading will be traumatizing for you, then you may choose to forgo it.

You might want to use content warnings when discussing or presenting materials that depict: Sexual assault. Animal cruelty. Self-harm. Physical violence. Death. Hate speech.

This [material/case/video/set of images/class session] contains [description/depiction/live discussion] of [violence/death/abuse/self-harming behavior/hate speech/discrimination/other]. I'm including this content in order to [rationale for why the material is used].

You can approach content warnings the way TV shows and movies do with their rating system. They simply name the theme without going into detail. In a book, for example, those might look something like: “This book contains references to alcohol consumption, violence using fantasy magic, and panic attacks.”

When giving a verbal content warning, leave a sufficient time gap between the warning and presenting the material. Let students know that they can leave the session at any point if they need to. If it is an online session, you could let the students know that they are welcome to turn their camera off as needed.

Craft Clear and Concise Text: Keep the content warning text concise but informative. Clearly state the nature of the sensitive content to give viewers a fair warning. For example, you could write "Trigger Warning: Graphic Violence" or "Sensitive Content: Discussions on Mental Health."