updates from popular culture: weinstein, trump and violence against women (international day for the elimination of violence against women)

Last week on December 9th 2017, as part of the United Nations 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, WHOI collaborated with the Global Health Office, Dalhousie University, to put on a panel discussion about violence against women. The annual 16 Days campaign kicked off on November 25th—the International Day to End Violence Against Women and ran until December 10th, Human Rights Day. Dalhousie's 16 Days campaign theme for this year was: SOLIDARITY NOT SILENCE. Speakers included WHOI founder, Habiba Cooper Diallo, Bintou Kaira, Yolanda Roberts, and Zaahirah Qazi. Each speaker addressed a different aspect of violence against women such as: the rapes of women on their way to or from work in the early hours of the morning, the sexualization and extreme degradation of women in music videos like Blurred Lines, and the dismissal of black women's claims of sexual violence.

The event was prompted by two specific issues of violence against women: firstly the recent #MeToo movement started by Tarana Burke grew as a result of dozens of women coming out and accusing media mogul, Harvey Weinstein, of sexual assault and secondly, the daily, mundane acts of violence carried out on women. 

​Click for Video Highlights from the Event