On the 25th of November the global 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence begins. It is an annual international campaign that starts on the 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and runs until 10 December, Human Rights Day.
As this year I have published my book, I am taking the opportunity to share what I have found, and most importantly what needs to change to improve our domestic abuse response, particularly for child survivors of DVA. As anyone who knows me understands, I never carried out this research for it to sit quietly in a university library. It was a passion project for me and now I am driven and hopeful that it can be used to bring about real material changes for young people.
So on that note, I am really pleased to have been offered some amazing platforms to speak, share, and go into discussions with practitioners who are working on the ground. Linking up the academic and the front-line work and experience.
My 16 days of activism:
25th November: Joining the UCU strike! The Universities and Colleges Union has called a national strike related to many issues which are centred upon equality. I have written here about why the UCU strikes are a feminist issue.
28th November: I am so excited to be doing a webinar as part of Clarion Domestic Abuse Conference on my book ‘Boys, Childhood Domestic Abuse and Gang Involvement: Violence at Home, Violence On-Road’.
29th November: I will be teaching my Gender-Based Violence class at the University of Bristol. This week I’m looking forward to hosting a guest lecture by Professor Aisha Gill on ‘Sexual violence and abuse across diverse communities’.
30th November: I will be in conversation with the brilliant Kendra Housman (Co-Founder of Out of the Shadows) and wonderful former colleague and friend Sally Jackson (STADA Partnership Manager). In the webinar, entitled ‘Speaking the Unspoken – Child Survivors of Domestic Abuse and Gang Involvement’ we will discuss the complexities of working with marginalised child survivors. Hosted by Standing Together Against Domestic Abuse CCR Network.
1st December: Back to teaching my students in the Gender-Based Violence class at the University of Bristol. I love hosting seminars with young people who are becoming increasingly inspired and passionate about GBV.
2nd December: I will be part of a webinar for Islington Council. It will be a privilege to be in conversation with Marcel Campbell, Deputy Team Manager in Islington’s Integrated Gangs Team for this webinar. The session will be hosted by Aisling Barker, VAWG Workforce Development and Practice Manager at Islington Council.
5th December: I have been invited to speak at a conference for Wiltshire Police at their Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Conference in Tidworth. In this event I will be focusing on my international research into early intervention work with DVA perpetrators and emphasising the importance of a Coordinated Community Response model.
6th December: I’ll be lecturing my University of Bristol students on ‘Perpetrators of Abuse’ for the Gender-Based Violence class.
8th December: My final seminars for my GBV class at Bristol. It is always an emotional end to the 10 weeks, which for many students has been both a personal and political consciousness raising journey. This also falls on Save the Children’s 11th Christmas Jumper Day, so I will be dusting off mine for that!
The 16 days of action end on the 10th December and so I think after all of this busyness I plan to sit down with my daughters and count my blessings.
jadelevell.com 