Sexual and Gender-based Violence Prevention in Education

Social Justice Education and the Centre for Media, Culture & Education, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education
University of Toronto, Canada; University of Rijeka Centre for Advanced Studies Southeast Europe, Croatia
and City of Rijeka, Croatia
With support from the Embassy of Canada to Croatia and Kosovo

July 3- 7, 2023  – University of Rijeka, Studentski Centar – Akvarij: Radmile Matejčić 5, Rijeka, Croatia

This international summer institute focuses on the important global issue of designing and implementing effective sexual and gender-based violence prevention interventions in public education, exploring especially international and comparative perspectives that are much needed in this research field. The institute is designed for scholars, students, educators, community activists, and practitioners interested in developing international and comparative skills in collecting and interpreting data related to gender-based and sexual violence prevention, as well as planning and evaluating violence prevention strategies in higher education and beyond.

The institute will focus on violence prevention in multicultural and multiethnic societies, drawing from intersectional, postsocialist, postcolonial, and social justice theories where sexual and gender-based violence prevention is understood in relation to structural, cultural, social, and behavioral factors. These factors produce and reinforce what are considered to be root causes of sexual violence locally and globally: patriarchy, socialist and capitalist economies, racial, ethnic, and gender and sexual identity formations, as well as educational, media, and state institutions supporting inequalities that produce forms of violence in education and beyond. The institute program is organized by topical sessions facilitated by an international team of Canadian and Croatian scholars specializing in gender and sexuality studies, philosophy, research design, and grant applications focused on gender/women, educational curriculum, and race, gender, and ethnic relations in Europe and North America. Special panels feature student research and analysis of intertwined forms of sexual, gender, racial, (post)colonial, political and cultural violence showcasing the interests and work of emerging scholars in the field.  The panels feature student research based in Russia, India, Croatia, Canada, China, the United States, and other locales mapping the global manifestations of violence yet dedicated efforts of educators, counselors, activists, and policymakers to stop such violence and support equity and social justice locally and globally.