by Staff Report
One in four women experience sexual assault at some point in their lives and even more expereince violence and abuse in relationships
The University of Waterloo will join with organizations, governments, and groups worldwide to participate in the annual 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence to remind everyone in the community that they can take actions in their lives everyday to stop gender-based violence.
16 Days started on Nov. 25 with the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, and will end December 10, on International Human Rights Day.
In Canada, 16 Days includes the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women on December 6, which commemorates those who were killed during the Montreal massacre.
At UW the event is organized by a growing and dedicated group of faculty, staff and students from a wide variety of programs.
16 Days is dedicated to creating actions and events to encourage others to help eliminate gender-based violence.
The events are co-sponsored by the Office of the Associate Vice-President, Human Rights, Equity and Inclusion, Dean of Arts Office, Drama and Speech Communication, Women’s Studies, Sexuality, Marriage, and Family Studies, the Waterloo Aboriginal Education Centre, and the library.
The international 16 Days campaign came out of the first Women’s Global Leadership Institute coordinated by the Center for Women’s Global Leadership in 1991.
Bridge: Honouring the Lives of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two Spirit People
The annual interactive installation showcases the sheer numbers of missing and murdered women. Working with the Waterloo Indigenous Student Centre, Professor Sorouja Moll started the project in 2016 to create a space for all community members to learn about the crisis facing Indigenous women as they reflect, write a name on red fabric, and tie it to the bridge between Environment 3 and St. Paul’s University College. The red fabric is meant as a gesture to name and remember the 4000+ missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and Two Spirit people in Canada.
The 16 Days website says, “This iniative is part of a meaningful sustained collaborative intercultural practice between non-Indigenous and Indigenous communities.”
Everyone is welcome to participate in the Bridge installation on Tuesday, Nov. 27 at 10:30 a.m. at the bridge between Environment 3 and St. Paul’s University College.
Tea and Talk with Wazhma Frogh
Wazhma Frogh, a human rights lawyer, peacemaker, and women’s rights activist from Afghanistan will speak at a free event hosted by the Philosophy department in J.G Hagey Hall of the Humanities in Room 373 on Wednesday Nove. 28 at 11:30 a.m. She recently moved to KW from Afghanistan. Frogh will give participants insight into her experiences challenging gender-based violence in Afghanistan.
The 16 Day’s website says, “Wazhma has highlighted the role women play in preventing extremism and violence, improved the situation of women working in security forces, and prosecuted perpetrators of sexual abuse and violence.”
W3: Waterloo Women’s Wednesdays presents Naila Keleta Mae: Canadian Theatre Made for Black Women
Naila Keleta-Mae is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication Arts will talk about theatre in relation to black women on Wednesday, Nov. 28 at 4 p.m. in Environment 3 in Room 4412. Keleta-Mae has published in Atlantis: Critical Studies in Gender, Culture & Social Justice, and won the Mary McEwan Award at York University for Feminist Research.
The 16 Days website says, “Naila Keleta-Mae will talk about, “Canadian theatre made for Black women.” For close to two decades Trey Anthony has carved out a successful career as a published and produced playwright in Canada in a national theatre scene where few playwrights enjoy sustained success.
This talk will discuss how Anthony–a Black queer woman–has done so even as Canadian theatre scholars, practitioners, and administrators voice perennial concerns about dwindling numbers in theatre audiences in Canada.
W3 (Waterloo Women’s Wednesdays) is a monthly gathering (and mailing list) of women-identified and non-binary grad students, post-docs, staff and faculty that meets on the last Wednesday of each month, roughly alternating between lunchtime and afternoon events.”
Gendered Conflicts and The Pursuit of Peace: A Poster Exhibit of Students in ‘Gender in War and Peace’
An art installation in the Conrad Grebel University College Atrium from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Thursday Nov. 29.
The Intersectionality of Violence: In Conversation with Leon Tsai and Student Activists
The event will start with a moment of silence, while a digital art installation/slide show plays in the background, remembering trans people of colour who have fallen victim to gender-based violence on Friday, Nov. 30 in Engineering 7, Second Floor Event Space.
Leon Tsai, a local youth activist and the External Coordinator of the UTSC’s Women’s and Trans Centre, will speak about how gender-based violence affects trans people and how it intersects with racial identity.
There will be a panel discussion featuring our guest speaker and a number of other equity student leaders.
ACCKWA Red Scarf Project
From Dec. 3-10, bid on a scarf in the Waterloo Indigenous Student Centre. The Red Scarf Campaign is an awareness-raising and stigma-busting initiative in support of people living with HIV in Waterloo.
Better Birth Experiences: Empowering Partners, Preventing Trauma
In this one-hour workshop, midwifery student, Spencer Sawyer, will talk about the challenges in maternal healthcare and give suggestions to move through pregnancy, birth, and postpartum from a lens of empowerment, agency, and self-efficacy on Wednesday Dec. 5 at 6 p.m. in AHS 2677.
