Gender-Based Violence Awareness Symposium

On December 3, 2022, the Catholic University in Erbil (CUE), in collaboration with Hawler Medical University (HMU), conducted a symposium on Gender-Based Violence Awareness on the occasion of the “16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence”. The 16 days of activism against GBV is an annual campaign launched by the UN to call for the prevention and elimination of violence against women and girls.

During the symposium, Prof. Dr. Hamdia Mirkhan Ahmed, Director of the Gender Studies Center, HMU, spoke about the concepts and types of gender-based violence such as physical violence, psychological violence, emotional violence, and more, explaining and highlighting the important concepts that are needed to raise awareness of this issue. Moreover, Assist. Prof. Dr. Sahar M. Zaki, Director of CREWH, HMU, explained the role of the Center for Research and Education in Women’s Health (CREWH) regarding this campaign, and the steps that are needed to end violence against women. Lastly, Mr. Ramyar Ismael Jamal, Assistant Lecturer in the Department of International Relations, CUE, spoke about Masculinity from a gender perspective. He presented Gender-based violence from a male point of view shedding light on men being victims of GBV. Thus, the definition of masculinity, its types, dangers as well as some statistics relevant to men and women who committed suicide were demonstrated.

At the end of the symposium, the speakers were awarded a certificate of recognition by CUE for their valuable presentation.