World Health Innovation Summit (WHIS) holds activism event against gender-based violence

Calling for the elimination of all forms of violence against women, the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence is an annual international campaign that kicked off on 25 November and runs until 10 December. The campaign invites the international community to take action against it, raising awareness of gender-based violence (GBV) on local, regional, and global levels.

The World Health Innovation Summit (WHIS) is led by chief executive Gareth Presch, who was a speaker at the virtual “Professional Beauty presents The World Spa & Wellness Conference” back in May.

WHIS’s Expert Panel on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment is conducting a series of daily webinars to raise awareness of the myriad complex GBV-related topics.

Spa and salon professionals are invited to register to join WHIS panellists and share their experiences, discuss the wider developmental implications of GBV and put forward measures to address inequality and prevent GBV.

Gender-based violence is an umbrella term for any harmful act that is perpetrated against a person’s will, and that is based on socially ascribed (gender) differences between males and females. In recent months, as the world has retreated inside in order to curb the spread of coronavirus, reports have shown an alarming increase in the already existing pandemic of violence against women.

Types of GBV can vary across cultures, countries and regions, but some of the more common forms include: sexual violence, sexual exploitation and/or abuse (SEA), domestic violence, trafficking, forced and/or early marriage and other traditional practices that cause harm, such as female genital mutilation and honour killings.

WHIS recognises that GBV is related to gender roles, power relationships and, particularly, discrimination against women. In order to address violence, WHIS aims to also address the societal and relational contexts in which violence occurs. Hence, all GBV partners will make every effort to include men and boys in addressing violence against women and girls.

The 16 Days of Activism webinars take place daily at 7pm BST, all upcoming webinars as well as previous discussion panels can be accessed via the World Health Innovation Summit Facebook page