The UAB commemorates one more year the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

14/09/2020

On 25 November next, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women will be commemorated with an institutional event at 12 pm live on the UAB YouTube channel. A minute's silence will be held, followed by a speech from the Secretary General, Esther Zapata; the reading of the Inter-University Council of Catalonia's Women in Science Committee manifesto by the Director of the Observatory for Equality, Maria Prats; and the closing by Rector Javier Lafuente. 

The Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, through the Observatory, adheres to the Inter-University Council of Catalonia's Women in Science Committee Manifesto and the Catalan Women’s Institute Manifesto. In addition, the UAB offers several activities starting November 23rd and 24th. Some of which are the painting of a feminist mural by the illustrator Clara Corax, and a series of conferences on gender violence. These activities are financed by the 2020 fund of the Pacto de Estado contra la Violencia de Género del Ministerio de Igualdad, from the Spanish Government Office against Gender-based Violence. The series of conferences will comprise the talk “Ahora contamos nosotras” (“Now we, women, count”) by the journalist Cristina Fallarás, on Thursday 26th November at 12:30 pm, and the talk “La violència sexual com a projecte polític: el cas Alcasser i la construcció del terror sexual” (“Sexual violence as a political project: the Alcasser case and the construction of sexual terror”) by the political scientist Nerea Barjola, on Wednesday 2nd December at 12:30 pm. Both activities can be followed live on the YouTube channel of the Observatory for Equality.

This commemoration has its origins in the murder of the Mirabal sisters in the Dominican Republic because of their militancy and activism. It was not until 2000 that the UN General Assembly adopted the resolution designating November 25th as a day to commemorate violence against women. During 2020, the number of women victims of male chauvinist violence reaches 41 in Spain, 8 of them in Catalonia.

The universities and research centres must also be spaces free from male chauvinist violence. That is why the UAB has available a Protocol to prevent and act against sexual harassment, harassment on grounds of sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, and male chauvinist violence. The UAB community is as well provided with a psychological support service for victims, through the Psycho-Gender Unit. Further resources on this matter are training on this subject, and prevention and awareness raising through campaigns and other actions. This information can be accessed through the section Gender-based violence of the Observatory website.