The Carleton University Students’ Association’s (CUSA) Womxn’s Centre will be hosting “16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence,” beginning Nov. 28.
It stemmed from an international campaign with the same name.
Each year, the international campaign begins on Nov. 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and ends on Human Rights Day on Dec. 10.
The campaign is comprised of four core events as well as a 16-day campaign on the Womxn’s Centre’s social media.
Safina Vesuna, co-coordinator at Carleton’s Womxn’s Centre, said the approach to the campaign has been broadened to be more inclusive.
“A lot of the discussion around past campaigns [talked about] violence against women specifically, without going into the nuances and the idea of gender-based violence, like non-cis males in terms of the violence,” Vesuna said.
The campaign will kick off with a resource fair on Nov. 28, followed by a panel discussion titled “Gendered Violence in the Public Sphere” on Nov. 29, a self-care night on Dec. 4, and a memorial for the L’École Polytechnique shooting on Dec. 6.
On Dec. 6, 1989, a shooter went into the École Polytechnique in Montreal and shot nine women, killing six.
Diana Idibe, CUSA’s vice-president (student services), said even though the “16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence” campaign is annual, recent political events make this year’s initiatives particularly important.
The campaign is “unique and especially relevant this year because of the events that have taken place in the past year,” Idibe said. “Especially in light of the #MeToo movement and some events that have happened even here in Ottawa in the political sphere.”
“I think that this event, especially the panel about gendered violence in the public sphere, will allow students to have a space to converse about things that have happened in the past year,” Idibe added.
“One of the most important functions of this campaign is not only spreading awareness, but also allowing for people to have conversations.”
Vesuna added that the nuances of gender-based violence are “something we’re trying to make sure we’re encompassing in this year’s campaign.”
Vesuna also said the structure of this year’s campaign is meant to show the prevalence of gender-based violence.
“In the past [other campaigns were] discussing misogyny in particular ways, whereas with this one I think we’re being a bit more broad in the scope,” she said. “This is a very substantial and pervasive problem that a lot of folks don’t link any other sorts of violence or global issues to.”
According to Vesuna, the campaign also aims to show students that there are many different ways to combat gender-based violence.
“Activism isn’t always going out and it isn’t always rioting,” she said. “There are many ways you can combat gender-based violence even in daily conversations—by being aware and talking about the issues.”
Manar Dhaif, a first-year criminology student at Carleton, said she is interested in attending the events because she is not familiar with the concept of gender-based violence.
“Some people are not aware that [gendered violence] is a thing—I would’ve not been aware myself,” Dhaif said. “I feel like people should be aware about that.”
Sheila Yang, a third-year communications student, said the campaign is especially important because it raises awareness among students.
She said the campaign is valuable “because it tells students how to protect ourselves from being a part of this violence.”
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