Webinars on Gender Equality and Gender-Based Violence Prevention

The Webinars on Gender Equality and Gender-Based Violence Prevention took place from 23 to 25 February and from 1 to 3 March 2021 via the Zoom platform. Since January 2021 accusations of sexual misconduct and other abuses by high-profile figures, including athletes and actors, rocked the public sphere in Greece and sparked a belated Greek #metoo movement. Gender equality entails equal rights for women and men, girls, and boys, as well as empowerment, responsibility and participation, in all spheres of public and private life. It also implies equal access to and distribution of resources between women and men. Although the legal status of women has improved during recent decades, effective equality is far from being a reality. Gender gaps persist in many areas, maintaining men in their traditional roles and constraining women’s opportunities to affirm their rights and assert their agency. The understanding of the social construction of gender is crucial to understand relations of power and mechanisms of discrimination. Gender stereotyping feeds gender discrimination, limiting the educational and professional development of boys and girls, women and men and LGBTQI persons. Stereotypes result from and are the cause of deeply engrained attitudes, values, norms and prejudices against women. They are used to justify and maintain the historical relations of power of men over women, as well as sexist attitudes which are holding back the advancement of women.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, emerging data and reports have shown that lockdowns led to spikes in all types of violence against women and girls, while it became more difficult for victims of violence to find help. The impacts and implications of the COVID-19 may create greater inequalities for marginalised groups of people, such as migrants and Roma, according to UN Women. As COVID-19 cases continue to strain health services, essential services, such as domestic violence shelters and helplines, have reached their capacity, while family, friends and neighbours are less likely to spot signs of abuse. Attention needs to be paid also to the possible longer-term effects of the pandemic regarding the balance between professional and personal life and women’s economic independence, since it may force many to make difficult choices and move to unpaid work.

The webinars on Gender Equality and Gender-Based Violence Prevention were designed for and addressed to humanitarian professionals, civil society and educators. The webinars covered core issues related to gender equality, violence against women, violence prevention, legal aspects of gender-based violence, communication and (body) language, and self-care in an intensive programme. Each day included presentations by experts, followed by break out ‘discussion rooms’ exercises and discussions involving the experts and participants, while during some of the days, relevant pre-recorded videos from the archive work of Symbiosis-School of Political Studies in Greece were presented and discussed.

The presentations and discussions involved academics and experts: Cécile Gréboval, Programme Manager, Gender Mainstreaming, Gender Equality Advisor, Gender Equality Division of the Council of Europe, Strasbourg; Stavros Boufidis, Psychiatrist – Psychotherapist, Thessaloniki; Heinrich Geldschläger, Psychologist-Psychotherapist, CONNEXUS, Barcelona; Aikaterini Georgiadou, Lawyer, Thessaloniki; Nicole Petalidou, Psychologist, FOMEN Researcher in Greece, Symbiosis-School of Political studies in Greece, affiliated to the Council of Europe Network.

Programme