University Initiatives Against Violence Towards Women Continue Beyond 25 November

On the occasion of the "International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women" and just a few days after the first anniversary of Giulia Cecchettin's feminicide (11 November), the University has organised a series of events to continue raising awareness about gender-based violence and reaffirm its commitment to combating, recognising, and denouncing all forms of violence and unacceptable behaviour in all settings and contexts.

The first event on the calendar, titled "Ten Questions on Violence", stems from the collaboration between the University of Bologna, the Municipality of Bologna, the Metropolitan City, and the Pact for Equality. It is scheduled for Wednesday, 20 November, at 9:30 AM, in the Aula Magna of Santa Lucia (Via Castiglione, 23 - Bologna) and will be streamed live on the UniBologna YouTube page. A discussion between students from secondary schools, training institutions, and the University of Bologna, alongside representatives from the Anti-Violence Centres and the Centres for Male Perpetrators of Violence in the metropolitan area of Bologna.

After the institutional greetings from Rector Giovanni Molari, Sergio Lo Giudice, Chief of Staff of the Metropolitan City of Bologna, Emily Marion Clancy, Deputy Mayor of the Municipality of Bologna, Rita Monticelli, Delegate for Human Rights of the Municipality of Bologna, and Giuseppe Antonio Panzardi, Director of the Regional School Office for Emilia-Romagna - Office V – Territorial Area of Bologna, Gino Cecchettin will speak before opening the floor to the classes from the schools and training institutions involved, moderated by Professor Cristina Demaria, Delegate for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion at the University of Bologna.
The programme will also include a speech from a representative of the student working group on gender-based violence at the Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences at the University of Bologna.

The floor will then be handed over to the Anti-Violence Centres and the Centres for Male Perpetrators of Violence in the Metropolitan Area of Bologna, moderated by Fabrizia Paltrinieri, Director of the Education and Social Development Sector, Metropolitan City of Bologna. The day will conclude with a speech by Sara Accorsi, Delegate Councillor of the Metropolitan City of Bologna.

On Friday, 29 November, the conference organised by the Association of Women University Professors (AdDU) and the University of Bologna’s Equal Opportunities Committee (CUG), in collaboration with the Re-Globe Jean Monnet Module of the University of Bologna, will take place. "Promoting Women to Promote the Economy", a full-day event from 9:15 AM to 7:00 PM, in the Poeti Hall of Palazzo Hercolani (Strada Maggiore, 45 - Bologna).

The conference will provide an overview of the University of Bologna's research on Women's Empowerment, beginning with domestic economics and women's emancipation in 19th-century America. The discussion will address women in a non-inclusive society, the feminisation of Italian secondary education during Fascism, the complexities and contradictions at the intersection of policy strategies and everyday practices, the role of women in innovative startups, and the links between socio-economic inequalities and psychiatric morbidity in women.

To conclude the first session of the day, a roundtable discussion will focus on equal opportunities, female employment, and gender budgeting.

The second session, starting at 2:30 PM, will explore the policies and regulations of the World Trade Organization for Women’s Empowerment. It will also address the European Union’s approach, the role of gender equality in European public policy, the issues faced by women in the transport sector, and the contribution of transport services and public mobility to women’s empowerment.

At 4:30 PM, the second roundtable will feature the experiences of women in the workplace. 

This year, the University also participates in the ‘16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence’, a global campaign led by the UN to raise awareness and encourage action to prevent and eliminate violence against women and girls.

All other initiatives organised by the University to raise awareness on this topic are available on Unibo Magazine.