Equal Opportunity

Orange Days

Thursday 1 December 2022

On November 25, 2022, members of H-BRS and Alanus University drew attention to violence against women as part of the worldwide "Orange Days" campaign. Men and women from all departments, some research institutes, the library as well as the administration took a stand and reminded that non-violence on campus is a basis for successful learning. Only in a violence-free environment can creativity and enthusiasm for learning fully develop, two prerequisites for successful completion of studies or collegial interaction.

Intensive discussions on the topic of "University as a protective space" or "What is actually violence" accompanied the participants on this day. Seven key questions could be answered anonymously. Participants confirmed that they had already experienced violence themselves, e.g. in the form of insults during online lessons in chats. Gender-based violence against women was also reported in the form of comments about appearance or female students denying the professional competence of their fellow students or superiors.

Stop violence!

All people, especially women, who experience violence at the university should please contact the Equal Opportunity Officer(s). The H-BRS does not tolerate insulting or derogatory comments as sometimes described in the returned questionnaires. In order to be effective, however, we are dependent on the civil courage of all those involved (including witnesses) as well as those affected.

Contact

In the questionnaires, some very good ideas were also expressed about the form in which the H-BRS and Alanus University could cooperate in the future. We are pleased about the perspective and say a big thank you to everyone who participated at the four locations Rheinbach, Alfter I, Alfter II and Sankt Augustin.