HeForShe event aims to tackle gender violence on campus

On Tuesday 29 November, the University will hold a HeForShe Global Ideathon which invites staff and students to help generate ways in which universities can tackle gender violence on campuses worldwide.

The Ideathon will kick off with a launch event outside the David Wilson Library at 11am where ideas for change can be submitted and people can show their support for the HeForShe movement by leaving a hand print on a large collage.

From 4-6pm in the Council Suite of the Fielding Johnson Building, participants will take part in a facilitated round-table discussion in order to generate ideas on how to tackle the gender violence issue.

For the most part, the university experience will be a safe, welcoming environment but incidents do occur on campuses worldwide.

According to YouthSight 2015, 1 in 3 female students and 1 in 8 male students have experienced gender based violence on university campuses in the UK.

The University of Leicester and University of Leicester Student’s Union have a range of support available for its staff and students including a Student Welfare Service, staff and student Counselling and Wellbeing team, a Students’ Union-led confidential listening service Nightline – which all fall under the collaborative campaign ‘Standing Together’.

Five suggestions from the day on how universities can tackle gender violence on campus will be chosen and pitched to a panel of senior University management, including the President and Vice-Chancellor Professor Paul Boyle, who will select three that can then be shared on all HeForShe social media channels.

Watch a video of University staff and students discussing gender violence below

• Press release

• The University of Leicester is leading the way in terms of gender equality as one of only 10 universities worldwide to be leading the UN’s HeForShe campaign. Leicester’s commitment to diversity, equalities and people who flourish cuts across the entire institution. Read more about how the University of Leicester is discovering innovative ways to change our world for the better