The University of Sussex will highlight its work towards stopping violence against women as part of a 16-day international campaign.
The worldwide 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence campaign starts today (Friday 25 November) - which is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women – and ends on Human Rights Day on 10 December.
It calls for the eradication of all forms of violence against women but this year there is a particular focus on physical, sexual and psychological violence.
Worldwide it is estimated that one third of women have experienced physical or sexual violence and the UN states that violence against women and girls “remains one of the most serious …human rights violations”.
Sussex, a world leader in development studies, has a number of active research projects into gender issues, including Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), women’s empowerment in Africa and lad culture in UK universities.
Over the course of the next 16 days, it will promote these research projects across various media.
Students and staff can get involved in the campaign by sharing this work on social media using the hashtag #16days. They are also invited to gather in Brighton city centre this evening for a Reclaim the Night march, which aims to challenge rape culture.
The campaign also provides an opportunity to highlight some of the University’s own recent initiatives in this area, such as a campus-wide sexual consent campaign for students and the creation of a new senior position of Deputy Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Equalities and Diversity) – shared by Professor Andrea Cornwall and Professor Clare Annesley.
Professor Cornwall, who is also Head of the School of Global Studies, says: “At the start of these 16 days of activism, we celebrate activists around the world for their courage and creativity in all that’s being done to eradicate sexual and gender violence.
“From the inspiring work of our Students’ Union, such as the Role Models project and the Safer Sussex campaign, to path-breaking action research initiatives that include empowering young women in the Democratic Republic of Congo and changing lad culture in the UK, we at Sussex are proud of the contributions that activists in our community are making to addressing one of the most insidious and pressing social issues of our times.”