VIUFA’s Women’s and Gender Equity Committee has collaborated with faculty, students, and local organizations to provide an informative and thoughtful event series to support the campaign for 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence, from November 25 to December 10. Participate in events below and promote events by sharing information posted at our VIUFA Women’s and Gender Equity Committee Facebook page. All supportive communities are invited to attend events.

International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

November 25, 2024, 11 am-1pm, Quad, VIU (Nanaimo campus)

Join us for the launch of the 16 Days of Activism campaign! We invite you to participate in the creation of a Clothesline Project, where we will write consciousness-raising messages of advocacy, experience, and information about violence against women and girls, and the work to eliminate gender-based violence. Shirts are usually colour-coded to symbolize different experiences of violence.

For more information about The Clothesline Project, please see this link. For information, please see a media release documenting a VIUFA-VIUSU collaboration on a Clothesline project in 2018. Haven Society, Nanaimo Family Life Association, and Positive Space Alliance will be among some of the hosts of key information tables available at the event. Free hot beverages will be available. This event is a VIUFA WAGE Committee collaboration with VIU Students’ Union. Together, we will install the clothesline in the upper cafeteria for the duration of 16 Days.

Reel Revolution: Celebrating Grassroots 2SLGBTQIAA+/Gender Justice Advocates.

November 28, 2024, 6pm-8pm, in Building 355, Room 203

Join us for a powerful short film series celebrating fearless 2SLGBTQIAA+ ‘everyday champions and grassroots activists’ fighting for gender justice, including trans rights! Hosted by VIUFA’s Women and Gender Equality (WAGE) Committee, this festival honours the bold, trailblazing work of past and present advocates pushing for autonomy, liberation, and joy. Come witness these inspiring stories and be part of a lively discussion on social justice, movement-building, and activism. This event is part of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence Campaign and follows events led by Positive Space Alliance in observance of Transgender Day of Remembrance on November 20. A discussion will follow the film screening. Free beverages and popcorn are available. A guest speaker from Nanaimo Family Life Association’s Gender Journeys program will share information.

Reel Revolution event, November 2024

Deeper than Drugs: an intersectional analysis of the root causes and impacts of the Toxic Drug Crisis

December 4, 2024, 3:30 pm-5:30 pm, in Building 200, Room 203, VIU Nanaimo Campus

Join Sarah Lovegrove (R.N.; Vice-President, Harm Reduction Nurses’ Association) as she offers an intersectional exploration of the colonial and racialized root causes and disproportionate impacts of the Toxic Drug Crisis that is killing over 21 Canadians each day. Through an equity-oriented lens, this discussion will also provide a critical overview of the increasingly politicized response to this ongoing and worsening public health emergency. Space will be held for questions at the end. Light refreshments and snacks will be provided. This event is hosted by VIUFA Wage Committee x VIU Harm Reduction Alliance.

Deeper than Drugs event, December 4, 2024

National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women

December 6, 2024, 11 am-1pm, in Malaspina Theatre lobby (B310)

Please join us to learn from guest speakers who will address how gender-based violence impacts women and girls in the past and present. Speakers will address topics ranging from sexual health education to Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-spirited individuals, to transphobia, racism, and war. There will be opportunities to make pledges, and attendees will be invited to participate in a vigil in Jardin de Quatorze, following the speaker series, to acknowledge fourteen women murdered in a misogynistic mass shooting at École Polytechnique in 1989. During this event, we wish to confront ongoing acts of violence against women and girls as we hold the memory of these women close. There will be a counsellor, on site, and information tables will be provided by Haven Society, Nanaimo Family Life Association, Nanaimo Women Helping Women, PowerUp Education, VIU Muslim Women’s Club, and Positive Space Alliance. Bannock and warm beverages will be available. This event is a VIUFA WAGE Committee collaboration with VIU Students’ Union (VIUSU).

December 6 Vigil 2024

InterView with Drs. Amel Aldehaib and Magnolia Pauker

Monday, December 9 · 10 – 11:30am PST

Join a discussion between friends and colleagues, Drs. Amel Aldehaib and Magnolia Pauker, as they talk about their transnational feminist partnership in support of women, children, and others impacted by the the mass killings, atrocities, massacres, and genocide in Sudan. This conversation will focus on sharing Dr. Aldehaib’s knowledge and experience as the founder of Goodness Radiance, a women-led volunteer organization located on Aba Island in Sudan’s White Nile Region, where many displaced people have been seeking refuge from the escalating violence.

We will also introduce our partnership and VIU students in Snuneymuxw who have been working alongside us using strategic, decolonizing, and intersectional transnational feminist methods to amplify the voices of Sudanese knowledge-keepers and mobilize resources in direct support of people displaced in Sudan, and beyond.

Attendance is by donation. All funds generated will go to support our ongoing partnership for collective liberation.

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Participate in a Donation Drive to collect items and gift cards to meet the needs of Haven Society’s wishlist

Please see the list below. Haven Society has indicated that gift cards are especially appreciated. This drive is a collaboration between VIUFA’s WAGE Committee and VIU Students’ Union and both unions will collect items on behalf of university community members. Donations are accepted until Dec. 10.

Please see below for available hours to drop off Haven Society Wishlist items and gift card donations to the VIUFA Office (B460, R108). The VIUSU Office is also accepting donation drop offs.

VIUFA OFFICE HOURS FOR DONATION:

Tuesday, Nov 26 Drop off available after 1:30pm
Wednesday, Nov 27 Drop off available before 2:00pm
Thursday, Nov 28 Drop off available 9:00am-4:30pm
Tuesday, Dec 3 Drop off available 9:00am-4:30pm
Wednesday, Dec 4 Drop off available before 2:00pm
Thursday, Dec 5 Drop off available before 12:00pm
Tuesday, Dec 10 Drop off available 9:00am-4:30pm

Acknowledgements

The VIUFA WAGE Committee for 2024—2025 includes diverse faculty with a range of expertise: Finn Meyer Cook (Social Work), Juliane Collard (Geography), Sonnet L’Abbé (English and Creative Writing and Journalism), Sarah Lovegrove (Nursing), Magnolia Pauker (Studies in
Women and Gender), KJ Reed (Studies in Women and Gender), and Melissa Stephens (English, VIUFA WAGE Chair). Special thanks to committee members for their hard work, expertise, and compassion.

Special thanks to the VIU Student Union (VIUSU) for their collaborations and promotional support, Dana McFarland and Laura Buechler for technical support, Robin Boxwell and Leon Potter for event support, and to Eliza Gardiner and the HRISC committee for their work on related events for 16 Days.