Words and actions for gender equality
The University of Padua is dedicated to promoting well-being, and eliminating discrimination, violence and gender-related stereotypes through institutional actions and cultural and training interventions. In November 2025, the initiatives proposed by Unipd to promote gender equality, some of which are held in English, expanded with the inclusion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women which is celebrated on 25 November.
“According to the EU survey on gender-based violence (2020–2024), coordinated by Eurostat, the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights, and the European Institute for Gender Equality, around 30% of women in the EU have experienced physical violence or threats and/or sexual violence in their lifetime. In Italy alone, in 2025, there have been 70 femicides and 62 attempted femicides. Although the number of incidents has decreased compared to 2024, the social emergency and the resulting collective responsibility toward this situation remain unchanged. In this context, the message of the Responsible University – UniRe project, launched in 2024 with the campaign ‘I see, I hear, I speak. Against gender-based violence and all discrimination’, is becoming increasingly important and central.
The University also joins the national campaign Posto Occupato promoted by the Centro Veneto Progetti Donna, a concrete gesture dedicated to all women who have been victims of violence. Each of these women—before a husband, an ex-partner, a lover, or a stranger decided to end her life—occupied a seat at the theatre, on a tram, at school, on the subway, in society. In our classrooms, we want to reserve a place for them, so that everyday life does not bury their memory.”
The University of Padua also participates in the Red Benches project by placing a red bench at the Department of Cultural Heritage at Palazzo Maldura in Padua. This continues a path started in 2021 at Palazzo del Bo and continued in 2022 at the University Hospital of Padua, in 2023 at the Department of Information Engineering, and in 2024 at the Department of Linguistic and Literary Studies (Beato Pellegrino Campus) in Padua. Following this path, the bench is moved to a different location each year. Against violence, the right to freedom, the right to live without fear.
The "Red Benches" project is an awareness initiative promoted by the General States of Women to combat gender-based violence.
Please share the campaign on your social media networks by tagging the University accounts and posting photographs of the posti occupati on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, and Instagram.
If you feel that you are a victim of discrimination, harassment, or gender-based violence, it is important that you report these situations and seek support> Whom you can contact Check the EVENTS 2025
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