Gender and sexual violence will be at the centre of a two-day symposium hosted at Brock later this week.<\/p>\n
The event, entitled Decolonize and Deconstruct: Imagining new approaches to sexuality and consent education, begins the evening of Thursday, March 30 and continues throughout the day Friday, March 31.<\/span><\/p>\n A panel discussion will be held Thursday from 7 to 9 p.m. in Academic South Room 201.<\/span><\/p>\n The four-member panel will touch on topics including Islamophobia, indigenous perspectives, mental health and racism in relation to gender violence.<\/span><\/p>\n The event will continue with a full-day symposium Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Plaza 600F, where several students, many of them survivors, will share their perspectives.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI want all of us to have a harder conversation about gender and sexual violence,\u201d said event co-organizer and Women\u2019s and Gender Studies Associate Professor Margot Francis.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe need to start looking each other in the eye and thinking about the hard work we need to do to address these issues.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n While most people can say in relatively simple terms that gender and sexual violence is wrong, Francis said there is a deeper conversation that needs to be had.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI want them to think about, for example, how pervasive Islamophobia in society really intensifies misogyny and gender violence that Muslim women experience,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI want them to think about what it means to live in a settler society, the impacts of that for indigenous women, the horrific levels of violence they experience and the ways in which that\u2019s structured in the history and the everyday lives of communities.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Student co-organizer Tegh Kaur Dhindsa called it critical for students to have a voice at the table during such a vital conversation.<\/span><\/p>\n She\u2019s hopeful the discussions had throughout the two-day event will help to shed light on systemic gaps that exist and bring to light actions needed to address those issues.<\/span><\/p>\n As a woman of colour and a survivor of gender violence, Dhindsa said she\u2019s experienced gaps in service that exist. She believes the symposium can help to impose change.<\/span><\/p>\n Registration for Friday\u2019s symposium is open until Wednesday, March 29 and can be done <\/span>online<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n Decolonize and Deconstruct is co-sponsored by Brock\u2019s Women\u2019s and Gender Studies, McMaster\u2019s Gender Studies and Feminist Research, Brock\u2019s Human Rights and Equity Services, McMaster\u2019s Equity and Inclusion Office, Brock\u2019s Student Justice Centre, Brock\u2019s Social Justice Research Institute and the Brock University Student Association.<\/span><\/p>\n