Farrah Khan works for gender justice through education, advocacy and art.
Farrah Khan, M.S.W., R.S.W., is an award-winning human rights and gender equity educator, writer, and advocate. She is dedicated to advancing progressive policies on access to abortion, reproductive rights, stigma-free healthcare, 2SLGBTQIA rights, sexual harassment, and comprehensive, inclusive sex education in Canada and globally. Farrah is the creator of the groundbreaking BRAVE Model©, a peer support model with five simple steps to support a friend who has been subjected to sexual violence and gender-based violence. It’s a first-of-its-kind peer education model for trauma-informed disclosure. She has trained 100,000 people in the BRAVE model©. Her lifelong work reflects a commitment to systemic change rooted in joy, equity, and community care. Farrah’s full bio, femtors, and awards can be found here.
The BRAVE Model© by Farrah Khan
A Trauma-Informed Framework for Responding to Disclosures of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence
Farrah Khan created the BRAVE Model© in 1998 as an educator, survivor, and advocate committed to transforming how communities respond to harm. One of the first peer-to-peer support tools of its kind in Canada, the BRAVE Model© offers a compassionate, survivor-centred framework for responding to disclosures of sexual and gender-based violence.
Originally developed to support youth in peer environments, the BRAVE Model© has since evolved into a widely used resource for youth programs, colleges and universities, sports organizations, nonprofit agencies, government departments, and healthcare providers. It is grounded in survivor expertise, community-based knowledge, trauma-informed research, and years of on-the-ground consultation with educators and support workers.
This adaptable model continues to be refined to reflect the evolving needs of communities across Canada and internationally. Whether used in school-based consent education, organizational policy training, or frontline support roles, the BRAVE Model© equips individuals and institutions with practical guidance rooted in empathy, accountability, and care.
Farrah Khan retains full copyright ownership of the BRAVE Model©. Unauthorized use, reproduction, or adaptation is strictly prohibited.
For inquiries about training, licensing, or partnerships, please get in touch with us.
I am a settler on the traditional territories of the Anishinabewaki ᐊᓂᔑᓈᐯᐗᑭ, Huron-Wendat Haudenosaunee. Gender-based violence is one form of colonial violence used to marginalize and dispossess Indigenous peoples from their culture, lands and waters. It continues to be used to this day to marginalize and dispossess Indigenous peoples from their culture, community, lands and waters. I am committed to addressing this by actively incorporating into my work the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action as well as the Call for Justice For Everyone within the Reclaiming Power and Place: The Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.