Laurier expert alert: 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence

Nov. 23, 2021
For Immediate Release

Waterloo – The 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence begins on Nov. 25 and runs until Dec. 10, Human Rights Day. Nov. 25 is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and Dec. 6 is the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence against Women.

Wilfrid Laurier University is marking the 16 Days of Activism with virtual programming, including workshops and events.

Laurier has several experts available to speak about topics related to gender-based violence.

Stacey Hannem, professor and chair in the Department of Criminology, is an expert on the effects of crime and legal regulation on the lives of marginalized and vulnerable persons. She is currently conducting an international comparative study of the legal regulation of sex work in Canada, New Zealand and Nevada, U.S. Her forthcoming book (co-authored with Christopher J. Schneider) is Defining Sexual Misconduct: Media, Power and #MeToo. Contact: 519.755.2053 or shannem@wlu.ca

Shoshana Pollack is a professor in the Faculty of Social Work and director of the Walls to Bridges Canada program, which brings incarcerated students and campus-enrolled students together to learn as classmates. She is an expert on violence against women, mental health, prisons, the criminalization of women and childhood abuse. In particular, she has studied peer support teams in women’s prisons; women’s routes to law-breaking; treatment and programming for incarcerated women; women’s experiences of post-prison release; and the impact of the Walls to Bridges program on both imprisoned women and MSW students. Contact: spollack@wlu.ca

Jennifer Root, associate professor in the Faculty of Social Work, is an expert on gender-based violence, including intimate partner violence, child exposure to woman abuse and other forms of trauma perpetrated against women and girls. She is currently researching resistance, help-seeking and conceptions of safety among women who’ve experienced gender-based violence. Contact: jroot@wlu.ca

Andrew Welsh is an associate professor in the Department of Criminology and associate dean of the Faculty of Human and Social Sciences. He is an expert on the constructions of crime and justice in the media and popular culture and has studied how gender and violence are portrayed in films and on television. Contact: awelsh@wlu.ca