Description: As part of the annual United Nations "Orange the World" campaign, running from November 25 (International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women) to December 10 (Human Rights Day), the WU Institute for Gender and Diversity in Organizations, SIETAR Austria, and Soroptimist International are hosting an event focused on the various forms of violence against women, including economic, psychological, physical, and organizational. Experts in law, criminology, and frontline support will discuss the challenges women face and share strategies and success stories in helping those affected by gender-based violence.

Target group: The target audience of this event includes members of the general public, Human Resource practitioners, politicians, students, and scholars.

Speakers:

Jutta Pirker-Kerschbaumer is the head of the legal department at the Universität für Weiterbildung Krems. Jutta has been a long-standing advocate for gender equality, and her extensive contributions include promoting equal opportunities for women and men, enhancing conditions for working mothers, and reducing discrimination against women, particularly in science. She was not only a member of the university's working group for equal treatment issues (AKG), but also chairwoman of the AKG twice.

Carmen Thornton is a partner at Thornton & Kautz Rechtsanwälte, specializing in family law. She provides expert advice on divorce, separation, and child custody issues. Carmen is also a columnist for Der Standard and appears on national TV (ORF) to discuss family law. She has received several awards, including the 2020 Justitia Award (Game Changer category) and recognition as one of the "Top 10 Family Lawyers" by Trend Magazine.

Alicja Świtoń is the Director of the Association of Austrian Autonomous Women’s Shelters, which supports 16 shelters across Austria. She is an expert on violence against women and is an active advocate for women’s rights, working to combat gender-based violence through her leadership and activism.

Katharina Beclin has been an assistant professor of criminology at the University of Vienna since 2006. Her research focuses on juvenile crime, sexual offenses, violence, stalking, and human trafficking. She works closely with victim support organizations to apply her research to real-world solutions.

Theresa Weger is an associate at FSM Attorneys at Law, where she focuses on insolvency law. She also has a strong interest in preventing violence against women, having written a thesis on femicides in Austria. As a young lawyer, she is committed to helping future female lawyers overcome the challenges that many women in law have faced.

https://www.wu.ac.at/en/diversity/institute/news-details/detail/wu-stands-against-gender-based-violence-2024