On November 25, the Institutional Declaration against Violence against Women was read at the ICM and the landing at the Institute of the Protocol for Prevention and Intervention against Sexual Harassment and Gender-based Harassment of the CSIC was explained.
On November 25, International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, the Institut de Ciències del Mar (ICM) of Barcelona reaffirmed its commitment to zero tolerance towards violence against women, which continues to be one of the most widespread human rights violations worldwide.
According to UN data, this type of violence affects more than a third of women and is currently considered the most serious manifestation of inequality towards this group, as it directly attacks their freedom and individual rights. For this reason, its eradication is considered a priority both at national and European level, but also within the ICM.
"The ICM recognizes sexual harassment and harassment based on sex in the workplace as forms of violence against women that constitute a structural violation of human rights. From that consideration, the Institute reiterates its solid commitment to effective equality between women and men and to the eradication of all forms of gender-based violence (...)", as can be read in the ICM Institutional Declaration against Violence Against Women.
The document was presented on November 25 at an institutional event organized by the Institute's Equality Working Group. During meeting, the results of the survey on sexual harassment conducted by the CSIC in 2019 and the internal survey conducted by the ICM in October, regarding the perception of sexual and gender-based harassment in the center, were analyzed. Additionally, some key concepts for understanding this type of discrimination were introduced.
Also, the internal implementation of the CSIC's Protocol for Prevention and Intervention against Sexual and Gender-based Harassment (2020) was presented, whose objective is to prevent, detect and sanction any manifestation of sexual or gender-based harassment that takes place in the center. In this sense, the ICM incorporates a previous phase of communication and counseling by reference persons of the Institute who have the role of informing, advising and accompanying in cases of sexual or gender-based harassment.
"The Institutional Declaration against Violence against Women of the ICM puts on the table our will of zero tolerance to any form of discrimination based on sex or gender and provides for the adoption of institutional measures aimed at preventing any act of physical, sexual or psychological violence against women," states Valentí Sallarès, director of the ICM.
Finally, in the final part of the meeting, the #metooscience initiative was presented, led by the Equality Group and the ICM Young Researchers association, which sought to show that gender inequality is still present in research centers. To this end, a series of mailboxes and an online form were set up with the aim of collecting the experiences and reflections of those who have been victims of some kind of discrimination or gender-based violence. The comments received were very diverse, with those related to paternalism and sexism standing out.
In total, almost a hundred people attended the event on November 25, and 65 more followed it online, which shows the willingness of the centre’s staff to put an end to this type of violence.
"This gives us strength to continue advancing with our commitment to gender equality in science and to contribute to the elimination of sexist violence in the workplace," celebrates the ICM Equality Group.