Members of the Brock community are invited to take part in the 16 Days of Activism campaign against gender-based violence.An upcoming international campaign is coming to Brock to educate about gender-based violence while also commemorating tragedies of the past.
Led by civil society groups from around the world, 16 Days of Activism is a campaign against gender-based violence towards women, girls and the Two-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, intersex, asexual, and additional sexual orientations and gender identities (2SLGBTQIA+) communities.
Observations will begin Saturday, Nov. 25 on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and continue until World Human Rights Day on Sunday, Dec. 10.
A variety of events will take place across the University during that time, including workshops on consent and disclosure, gender and sexual violence from international perspectives, and mindfulness and meditation for 2SLBGTQIA communities and allies. Additional initiatives will include a welcome table to create awareness and education about gender-based violence, a movie night, a panel on the intersections of injustice and a talk from former international diver Wegadesk Gorup-Paul about how to better protect and support child sexual abuse victims in Canadian sports.
The Brock community is also invited to mark the International Day of Persons with Disabilities on Sunday, Dec. 3 and the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women on Wednesday, Dec. 6. The latter commemorates the anniversary of the 1989 École Polytechnique massacre, in which an armed student murdered 14 women and injured 10 others in Montreal.
Rabia Choudhary, Brock’s Student Justice Education Co-ordinator, said the 16-day campaign will open discussions, expand education and commemorate the tragedies that have arisen from gender-based violence.
“By holding events over more than two weeks, we hope participants will have the time to honour and remember victims of gender-based violence as well as become active in local support initiatives,” she said.
The calendar of events at Brock has been co-ordinated by Human Rights and Equity’s Gender and Sexual Violence Peer 2 Peer Support and Education team, the Student Justice Centre and the President’s Advisory Committee on Human Rights, Equity and Decolonization’s Sexual Violence Prevention Committee.
For more information on the 16 Days of Activism and a full list of events, visit the HRE website.
