Following last week's event marking the 16 Days of Activism against gender-based violence, which formed part of the university-wide initiatives to raise awareness and help mitigate this matter of concern, a document containing the student proposals, as well as UM student research was presented to UM Rector, Prof. Alfred J. Vella.
In the presence of some of the representatives from the participating student organisations, KSU President Mr Jeremy Mifsud Bonnici, as well as UM's Equity Coordinator, Ms Nadia Abdilla, UM's Pro-Rector for Student & Staff Affairs and Outreach, Prof. Carmen Sammut, said the next step is to carefully analyse the contents of the document, elicit the most salient points and start working on actualising them at campus level, as well as on a national level by asking the relevant authorities to intervene.
Upon reiterating the University's zero tolerance policy towards abuse or harassment on campus, Prof. Vella encouraged the students present to empower their peers to speak up in such cases. Reporting cases of sexual harassment is key.
The document was also presented to external stakeholders. On 6 December 2023, a delegation from the University of Malta met with the Parliamentary Secretary for Reforms and Equality Honourable Rebecca Buttigieg and the Commissioner for Domestic and Gender-Based Violence, Ms Samantha Pace Gasan.
Hon. Rebecca Buttigieg lauded the student-led initiative and expressed her thanks towards the Student Organisations for their pro-active approach and for coming forward with such proposals. Furthermore she looks forward to fostering enduring collaborations with the University of Malta.
