16 Days of Activism campaign honours differences and shared struggles

What: 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence

When: November 25 to December 10, various dates and times

Where: Vancouver Island University Nanaimo campus

Media: Schedule of events below

The Vancouver Island University Faculty Association Women’s and Gender Equity committee (WAGE) is urging people to honour differences, hold space for each other and engage in meaningful conversations during 16 Days of Activism.

The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence campaign runs from November 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, to December 10, Human Rights Day. 

Dr. Melissa Stephens, WAGE committee chair, encourages reflection on collective liberation, emphasizing that true freedom is interconnected and requires honouring differences and shared struggles. She said this requires holding space for our differences and acknowledging the pain and suffering people are going through.

“Gender-based violence is experienced in intimate partner relationships, workplaces, school campuses and online and it escalates in situations of war. It is intersectional and intimate, so we must grasp how racism, colonialism, sexism, transphobia, ableism, ageism and other forms of domination and control impact people in distinct ways, when we’re witnessing it on social media, studying it or experiencing it in our physical interactions of everyday life,” said Stephens, adding that this year’s events are about building relationships “to courageously confront our own complicities with gender-based violence because we have an ethical obligation to be there for each other, in our commonalities and differences.”

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Media Contact:

Rachel Stern, Communications Officer, Vancouver Island University

C: 250.618.0373 l E: Rachel.Stern@viu.ca | X: @VIUniversity

The VIU community acknowledges and thanks the Snuneymuxw, Quw’utsun, Tla’amin, Snaw-naw-as and Qualicum First Nation on whose traditional lands we teach, learn, research, live and share knowledge.

Schedule of events

WAGE is partnering with the VIU Students’ Union to present several events during 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence. All events are open to employees, students and supportive community members. They include:

• Clothesline Project launch, November 25, 11 am to 1 pm, at the upper cafeteria (Building 300). People can write a message on a T-shirt to contribute to the project. This is the kickoff event for the campaign.
• Haven Society Wish List Clothing Drive. People are asked to donate items to Haven Society to help women, children and families in need. Learn more about drop-off locations and the wish list.
• On the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women, December 6, there is a vigil from 11 am to 1 pm. It starts in the Malaspina Theatre lobby (Building 310) and continues with a vigil walk to the Jardin des Quartorze garden.

The Women’s and Gender Equity committee is also presenting:

• Reel Revolution Short film series celebrating 2SLGBTQ+ gender justice advocates on November 28, 6 to 8 pm in Building 355, Room 203. A Nanaimo Family Life Association representative will attend to offer information about gender journeys.
• Deeper than drugs: an intersectional analysis of the root causes and impacts of the toxic drug crisis. Join Sarah Lovegrove, Vice-President of the Harm Reduction Nurses Association, as she explores the colonial and racialized root causes of the toxic drug crisis. December 4, from 3:30 to 5:30 pm, in Building 200, Room 203.
• Transnational Feminist Partnerships for Collective Liberation. Join Drs. Amel Aldehaib and Magnolia Pauker virtually as they talk about their transnational feminist partnership in support of women, children, and others impacted by the mass killings, atrocities, massacres and genocide in Sudan. Tickets on Eventbrite, by donation.

VIUFA’s Human Rights and International Solidarity committee is hosting several events to mark Human Rights Day:

• Flower Power Solidarity Table on November 28 in the cafeteria (Building 300) from 10 am to 12 pm. Volunteers are giving out flowers as a symbol of world peace. People are welcome to share their thoughts on striving to live in a world without war.
• Join Winnifred Namazzi, a visiting international scholar from Kabale University, for The Right to Education, a discussion about how Uganda can implement culturally relevant education for Indigenous Batwa communities. December 3, from 3 to 6 pm, in Building 210, Room 270.
• CBC Ideas podcast “Brave New Worlds: The Rights to Free Thought and Free Expression.” People are invited to listen to the podcast on Human Rights Day, December 10, from 4 to 6 pm, in Building 210, Room 270. Enjoy good company, light refreshments and a moderated discussion after the podcast.