The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence is an annual international campaign, occurring from November 25 to December 10. This campaign began in 1991 to call out and speak up against gender-based violence, and to renew our commitment to ending violence against women, girls, and gender diverse people.

The GEM will be hosting multiple events focused on empowerment, prevention, discussion, survivor support, and community care. All events are free and open to all community members.

Want to get involved?

• Looking to volunteer, or learn more information? Send us an email through the form on our contact page!

💟 WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 25 💟

BAKE SALE | Outside the Michelle Pujol Room (The SUB) | 11-2 p.m.

Help us support a fellow UVic student who lived in the Traveller’s Inn and unfortunately lost everything after the fire.  
If you want to bake something or help us man the table, please fill the following form: https://forms.gle/2zCHYZ2fbr8shthHA 
 
If you want to buy the tasty treats, find us outside the michelle pujol room in the SUB form 11 to 2 pm! 

 

💟 THURSDAY NOVEMBER 26 💟

FACELESS DOLLS PROJECT W/ DIR. OF INTERNATIONAL STUDENT RELATIONS | GEM Centre (Room B107 at the SUB) | 4-6 p.m.

Faceless dolls symbolize missing and murdered women, especially those who are underrepresented in the media. This event joins a larger movement aimed to give the voice and power back to the women whom it was stolen from, to remind everyone that each lost girl is not just a face-but a soul. This event may be considered heavy due to its premises, so attendees are advised to take care of their hearts going into this. We will also continue this activity later to display and honor the should who were lost at the hands of GVB.   

This event is in collaboration with Cherop, the international student affairs lead director for the UVSS. Cherop is supporting the event by researching 10 women, girls and gender diverse individuals, five of which are Indigenous and five from other places around the world.   

The event consists of crafting representations of the individuals affected by GBV. While creating, we will talk about GBV around the world, particularly femicide.

MEN’S CIRCLE WITH AVP | SUB B028 (Basement) | 6-8 pm

The Men’s Circle at UVic hosts a weekly drop in men’s circle seeking to help men and masculine identifying folks improve their relationship with themself, their peers, romantic interests and their community.

 

💟 FRIDAY NOVEMBER 27 💟

BIO-BLITZ AND ZINE MAKING WORKSHOP | GEM Centre (Room B107 at the SUB) & Mystic Vale | 10-1 p.m.

We will begin by meeting at a place on campus with an active ecosystem (ie mystic vale), and doing a crash-course on joining our Inaturalist project. This way, joined members are able to view data added by the community and reference back when creating zines. Participants will then take photos of species they spot, and finish by walking back to GEM (SUB room B107). We will then turn our focus on uploading the observations and making Zines to capture the knowledge learned. People can choose between a pre-made template and fill it in with their info or start from scratch and use their creative ideas. We will end by showing members how to consistently keep up with ecological data and discuss other community-oriented ways to share knowledge. 

HAIR, HENNA, AND NAIL SALON (in collaboration with the Students of Colour Collective) | GEM Centre (Room B107 at the SUB) | 2-4 p.m. 

Join GEM x SOCC for our free hair bar, nail polish, and henna makeover event. We will have experienced individuals providing services for hair types up to 4C. We will have volunteers offering braids and hair straightening. We will have supplies for folks to paint their nails. Lastly, we will have henna cones for people to henna themselves, along with volunteers who would be happy to help apply henna as well. Come get pampered and relax at GEM with a like-minded and welcoming community.

 

💟 MONDAY NOVEMBER 30 💟

GEM’S BOOK CLUB | GEM Centre (Room B107 at the SUB)  | 4-6 p.m.

Join GEM for a thoughtful discussion on gender-based violence in books. Choose a book or zine from the GEM library, or your own book from home. Join us for a cozy meeting to talk about our readings! P.S. You don’t need to finish your reading to join. There is no pressure here 😉 

 

💟 TUESDAY DECEMBER 1 💟

FREE HOT LUNCH WITH THE ANTI-VIOLENCE PROJECT & LET’S GET CONSENSUAL CAMPAING  | Vertigo | 11:30-1:30 p.m.

Whether you’re a student, staff member, or member of the community, you are welcome to come and enjoy the hot lunch with us. No sign-up is needed.

INTRO TO BOXING | McKinnon Building, in the dance studio room 011 | 3-4 p.m.

For women, trans, non-binary and gender non-conforming students. These free sessions will be focusing on proper footwork, punching technique, and dynamic pad work with a partner. There is absolutely no sparring or contact. Equipment will be provided, but you are welcome to bring your own hand wraps and/or gloves if desired! Registration is required. Click here to register!

 

💟 WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 2 💟

GEM’S BOARD GAME NIGHT | GEM Centre (Room B107 at the SUB)  | 4-6 p.m.

Join GEM for a very special game night featuring the Domestic Abuse Training Game. Playing the Domestic Abuse Training Game will equip participants with the confidence and knowledge to respond to domestic abuse concerns, by asking appropriate questions and offering support to individuals. This game was developed by leading academics in intimate partner violence. For more information about the game the website can be accessed https://www.dvagame.co.uk/

 

💟 THURSDAY DECEMBER 3 💟

CLOTHING UPCYCLING | GEM Centre (Room B107 at the SUB)| 11-2 p.m.

Breathe life into old clothes with upcycling materials to match your closet to your current style! We chose this event to be a part of the 16 days against GBV because one major part of standing up against GVB is acknowledging the systems set up against women. This includes the fashion industry, which encourages consumerism and unrealistic body standards. Join GEM to make the most of the wardrobe you have through common upcycling methods. Participants will have access to a sewing machine, fabric, fabric paints, and fabric markers.

 

💟 FRIDAY DECEMBER 4 💟

LEARN ABOUT CUERPO TERRITORIOS WITH THE UVSP | Room B025 SUB Basement | 3:30-5 p.m.

Latin American Feminist Theory that posits that the human body and the land are one.

UVSP PAPER MAKING + CARD MAKING | Vertigo | 6-8 p.m.

Create paper and send letters of support to survivors.

 

💟 MONDAY DECEMBER 7 💟

VIGIL FOR NDRAVAW | Petch Fountain (Outside the library, in the quad) | 11:30-12:30 p.m. — Optional sharing circle | Engineering & Computer Science Building 360 | 12:30-1:30 p.m.

Conmemorating & grieving the 14 women who were murdered in the Engineering program at Polytechnique Montréal.

 

💟 TUESDAY DECEMBER 8 💟

ZINE WORKSHOP (in collaboration with the Society of Students with a disability) | GEM Centre (Room B107 at the SUB) | 1:30-3:30 p.m.

Zine making is a longstanding grassroot feminist practice that merges creativity, activism, and critical inquiry. Often created through collaging, writing, drawing, and a variety of other creative methods, zines bring the personal and political together and materially wrangle with elements of alterity, creativity, justice, subversion, collective interest and care (Castro, 2025). We will provide all materials necessary to let your artistic self to be expressed. Rodriguez Castro, L., Watson, A., & Trayhurn, S. (2025). Critical feminist zine-making as method and pedagogy: reflections on a zine workshop series. Gender and Education, 37(7), 725–740. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540253.2025.2544527

 

💟 WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 9 💟

SOCC COOKIE DECORATING  | SUB B028 (Basement) | 1-4 p.m.

Come be creative with cookie decorating, providing us with the space to have open dialogue for discussions around gender-based violence.

 

💟 FRIDAY DECEMBER 10 💟

SILENCE, DISPLAY, AND HONOUR | GEM Centre (Room B107 at the SUB)| 11-1 p.m.

Please join us this Thursday, December 10, Human Rights Day, to commemorate and grieve the people lost around the world due to gender-based violence. We’ll meet at GEM for some opening words and then we’ll put up the faceless dolls we created in our previous workshop. We’ll have materials available if people would like to help us create more. After that and a moment of silence, we’ll have an optional sharing circle to talk in community about the effects of gender-based violence and what we can do to help each other create a world without gender-based violence. With generosity and care, The Gender Empowerment Centre.