International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women

On 25 November, as part of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, Université Bourgogne Europe dedicated a day to raising awareness of Sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV).

Presentation of SGBV reporting mechanisms, conference on gender equality, self-defence classes, role-playing and analysis by the audience, film screening and discussion… Students and staff were invited to participate in various activities organised on the Dijon campus.

As an introduction to the day, President Vincent Thomas reviewed the student and staff support system and the concrete solutions that have been implemented since its launch in 2024.

Concrete actions

Among the various actions implemented, the president cited in particular:

• The establishment of a student and staff listening unit
• The creation of a pool of 28 SGBV advisors on a voluntary basis
• The development of strong prevention and awareness-raising actions from the first year of undergraduate studies, with more than 1,100 students already made aware of the issue upon their arrival in L1 for the 2024-2025 academic year
• The organisation of several awareness-raising days on SGBV and gender equality in Higher Education and Research (HER)
• Strengthening listening and support resources
• Improving the skills of teachers and staff with new targeted and in-depth training courses
• Increasing the visibility of the listening unit
• Streamlining links with university departments and bodies

The President also reiterated the importance of mobilising UBE services, such as the Prevention, Safety and Quality of Life at Work Service (PSQLW) and the Student Health Service (SHS), during medical and psychological support processes.

The day continued with a conference entitled ‘Why is it so difficult to achieve equality?’ by Fawzia Baba-Aissa, Senior Lecturer at Université Bourgogne Europe, co-founder and member of the Board of Directors of the Fund for Women in the Mediterranean (FFMed).

During the lunch break, staff and students were able to take part in self-defence activities and, in the early afternoon, in short plays organised by the PSQLW department. The day ended with a film screening and discussion entitled ‘Female students in a minefield’, organised at the atheneum and hosted by Clémentine Hugol-Gential, Professor of Information and Communication Sciences at UBE and Deputy Director of the Cimeos Laboratory.