Standing Against Gender Based Violence

On occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on November 25, designated by the General Assembly of the UN, Bocconi and Fondazione Vodafone Italia have joined together to organize an event on November 23 to raise awareness on this very pressing issue and, together with the whole Bocconi community, take a stand against gender-based violence.

Gender-based violence has in fact increased during the COVID crisis, producing a Shadow Pandemic, and the conference aims at speaking about the various forms of violence, how to address the issue and how technology can help.

"Research suggests that gender-based violence has increased during the COVID crisis. In 2020 emergency calls reporting violence and stalking against women more than doubled, compared to the same period of the previous year. This event is aimed at raising awareness about gender-based violence within the Bocconi community and demonstrate solidarity with victims," says Catherine De Vries, Dean for Diversity and Inclusion at Bocconi.

Speakers at the event include prof De Vries, Adriana Versino, Head of Sustainability, Vodafone Italia & Managing Director, Fondazione Vodafone Italia, author Clizia Fornasier and representatives of the students' associations B.Lab, Team and World@B.

Here details and program of the event.


Here the 'Statement Against Gender-Based Violence' drafted by the students:
"Gender-based violence is endemic. According to the WHO, one in three women globally will survive gender-based violence in her lifetime. In fact, they write, "1 in 4 young women (aged 15-24 years) who have been in a relationship will have already experienced violence by an intimate partner by the time they reach their mid-twenties." This is not a phenomenon concentrated in one area of the world, but a widespread public health threat in every country. As of 2014, 31.5% of women in Italy between 16 and 70 years of age have experienced physical or sexual abuse at any point in their lives. Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of women in Italy accessing anti-violence services is estimated to have doubled. The number of women calling crisis lines between March and April of 2020 increased by 59%.
Gender-based violence leaves deep scars in people's lives. Indeed, studies suggest that gender-based violence causes stress that fundamentally changes individuals on a biological level, contributing to long-term health disparities and placing survivors at risk for multiple health problems. Despite all this gender-based violence can be fought. Bocconi's commitment to calling this phenomenon by its proper name, "gender-based violence," offers us a great opportunity to create a safe space for our students to thrive, to discuss solutions together, and to fight this battle every day. We are pleased to join Bocconi to advocate for the rights of survivors of gender-based violence, and to publicly commit to building a better environment for individuals to grow into the next generation of the world's leading intellectuals, politicians, and entrepreneurs. This opportunity to create allyship within our communities and foster change means an opportunity to become a paradigm for what is expected from higher education. It is an honor to join the university in carving that path."