The 23rd WAVE Conference will be happening online on October 6-7, 2021. The title of this year’s conference is Breaking the Cycle: Preventing and Tackling Sexualised Violence against Women and Children and is being organized in collaboration with our Portuguese WAVE Member Associação de Mulheres contra a Violência (AMCV).
The 2021 online WAVE Conference ‘Breaking the cycle: preventing and tackling sexualised violence against women and children’ aims to offer participants a holistic and intersectional approach on preventing and tackling sexualised violence.
Illustration: Menah Wellen
Why the topic of sexualised violence?
Sexualised violence remains one of the most hidden forms of violence that women and girls experience, therefore WAVE intends to shed more light on the problematic, by covering topics such as: promising and inclusive practices in providing women’s specialist support including services for survivors of sexualised violence, and effective approaches in tackling digital sexualised violence against women and children.
WAVE firmly believes that tackling sexualised violence requires national frameworks adapted to international legal standards and crucially appropriate implementation of such standards, as well as victim-centred women’s support services for survivors of sexualised violence. The long-term protection of survivors also requires effective prevention work to ensure sustainable change of societal attitudes towards, and understanding of, the root causes of sexualised violence such as gender stereotypes. Furthermore, adequate protection means that survivors are able to receive appropriate and timely support including effective and victim-centred prosecution if they decide to formally report the violence they experienced.
Throughout this two-day conference, WAVE members will have the chance to attend eight workshops organised and facilitated by WAVE members. These workshops will provide attendees with more in-depth knowledge on preventing and tackling sexualised violence and allow for further discussion and mutual learning. Topics covered will include the importance of youth-centred interventions, rape and consent legislation across Europe, incorporating child safeguarding policies in women’ shelters, as well as supporting survivors of elder abuse and women survivors with disabilities.
At the end of each day, WAVE members attending the conference will have the opportunity to meet informally for one hour and a half, to socialise, network, exchange ideas with other WAVE members through an online platform offered by the WAVE office and Fundraising Everywhere (WAVE’s technological support provider for the 2021 WAVE conference).
Please register here. The deadline to register for the WAVE conference is 3rd October 2021.
The final agenda of the conference is available here.
Please note that conference workshops are only available to WAVE members and members of WAVE members. We kindly ask WAVE members to register in advance for the workshops.
We hope that you will find this online version of the 23rd WAVE conference interesting and enriching, and hope to meet you all again in person next year!
