What is 16 days of activism?
The 16 days of activism is an annual campaign run by the UN to stop Gender-Based violence around the world. The campaign runs from 25th November till 10th December and encompasses a wide range subjects and events that raise awareness about how people are persecuted for their gender worldwide. Bristol Femsoc is modelling our very own virtual 16 days of Activism campaign on campus to engage with some amazing speakers and experts on this issue!
What’s happening on Campus at UoB?
Bristol Femsoc along with a range of other societies and networks are running 6 events throughout the 16 days to raise awareness about the violence and issues people face because of their gender all around the world.
These are the events:
The Intersection of Gender and the “Killer Robots”: 25th November, 5-6pm
Our first event is run alongside Amnesty international looking at how the use of full autonomous weapons can exacerbate notions of masculinity in the military and be used to commit gender based violence. Autonomous weapons are lethal weaponry that can act independently to identify and harm individuals. Our speakers will explore how the use of these weapons through a gendered gaze. We are so excited to invite for Ray Acheson [she/her] to speak at this event. She is CSKR spokesperson on gender as well as the director of the Reaching Critical Will project for Women’s league for Peace and Freedom. Acheson is also the co-founder of the camping to stop killer robots. Our second incredible speaker is Elizabeth Minor [she/her]. Elizabeth Minor is an Advisor at Article 36 and has also focused efforts on this campaign.
Respecting the Trans Experience: 27th November 5-6pm
We are running a workshop in conjunction with the Trans Network and Women’s Network on Trans visibility worldwide. This workshop is intended for anyone willing and open to learning more about the experiences Trans people go through worldwide. We will also be discussing the effects of the constant violence, both mental and physical against Trans bodies- worldwide. This is an opportunity for all of us to be educated by expert voices about trans issues. We are hosting Sian Amekundi [she/her] and Maddie Coward [she/her], Maddie is an activist who spoke at the Bristol Trans Rights protest in July and most recently helped create the trans health crisis mural at the People’s Republic of Stokes Croft.
Letter Writing to the Polish Government: 2nd December 1-2pm
We are running a letter-writing drive co-hosted by Amnesty and Her Campus Bristol. During this event we are writing a letter to Polish Government about the recent changes to the country’s abortion laws. Amnesty run letter writing drives regularly throughout the year so we’re excited to collab with them on this event. Her Campus Bristol are also collaborating with us for this and will be publishing some of the letters after the session. This is a great opportunity for engaging in activism and also to see your words published!
ConsenTEA and wellbeing conversation: 7th December 4-5pm
FemSoc and Women’s Network are running a virtual tea and coffee event to talk about consent on campus! This event will be an open and safe conversation about what consent means on campus and why it is so important to us today. We’ll be joined by the founder of BOLDVOICES Natasha Eeles [she/her]. BOLDVOICES is an organisation fighting to raise awareness about rape culture on campus and in schools around the UK. Then current Chair of the Women’s Network, Anna Vause [she/her], and Presient of FemSoc Shamar Gunning [she/her], will lead us in a conversation about consent culture. Don’t forget to bring a cup of tea!
Female Genital Cutting Webinar: 8th December 5-6pm
FemSoc are hosting a webinar to raise awareness on Female Genital Cutting on December 8th. FGC is the total and partial removal of female genital organs for non-medical reasons. Every 11 seconds a girl undergoes FGC globally. The webinar will be run by Sanya Sharma [she/her], founder of Scarlett Udaan- a global youth organisation which works towards raising awareness and ending FGC. This event will be an informative webinar and will be followed by a question and answer on the topic.
Misogynoir and Medicine: 9th December 5-6pm
Along with BME medics Femsoc are hosting a discussion about how black women are treated by the medical profession. We will be hearing from an amazing panel of speakers including Uju Asika, author of “Bringing up Race”, screenwriter, and family lifestyle blogger who well tell us about her experiences as black woman mummy blogger. Our second speaker is from the campaign FIVEXMORE, named after the statistic that black women are five times more likely to die in childbirth than white women. Finally we are lucky to host Tayo a postgrad medical student who will speak to us about her experiences working in an NHS stroke rehabilitation for over a year.
By Shamar Gunning (ifemsoc)