FemIDEAS Conference 2026
The following episodes feature recordings of the keynote presentations and panel discussions from the FemIDEAS and FemDIALOGUE Conference, Transforming Theory, Policy, and Practice: Decolonise Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in Higher Education, held online from 4–6 February 2026.
FemIDEAS is a UKRI-funded research project based at the University of Westminster, London, bringing together feminist, intersectional, decolonial and survivor-centred perspectives to address sexual and gender-based violence in higher education. Working across the UK, South Africa, Nigeria, Brazil and Argentina, the project connects research, policy and practice by creating spaces for dialogue and collaboration between survivors, activists, academics and policymakers. Through its work, FemIDEAS aims to challenge existing structures and approaches, amplify marginalised voices, and contribute to more inclusive, equitable and survivor-centred responses to sexual and gender-based violence in higher education.
To find out more about the FemIDEAS Project, visit their website at femideas.com.
Opening keynote panel
In the opening keynote titled “Addressing Sexual and Gender Based Violence in Higher Education and Building Transnational Solidarities: Perspectives from South Africa, Nigeria, Brazil and Argentina”, academic-activists from each of the FemIDEAS project’s fieldwork locations—South Africa, Nigeria, Brazil, and Argentina—collectively reflect on past and ongoing efforts to address and prevent sexual and gender-based violence in higher education within their respective contexts. Together, they explore possible ways forward and imagine new forms of transnational collaboration, solidarity-building and resource-sharing.
Chaired by: Adrija Dey
Panellists:
Amanda Gouws is Distinguished Professor of Political Science at the University of Stellenbosch,South Africa, where she holds a SARChI Chair in Gender Politics. Her research focuses on womenand citizenship, women’s representation, women’s movements and gender-based violence.
Furaha-Joy Sekai Saungweme is the Founder of Africa End Sexual Harassment Initiative (AESHI)and a Georgetown Law graduate. Furaha-Joy holds the position of Co-Director of the Berkeley CenterGender Justice and Sexual Harassment Working Group and is an Advisory Board Member of the Decolonizing Sexual and Gender Based Violence in Higher Education, University of Westminster.
Caroline Rodrigues Silva is a Lecturer in Organisation and People at Brunel University London. Withover a decade of research experience, she works at the intersections of gender, race, and class,grounded in intersectional feminist and decolonial perspectives. Her recent work examines sexism in organisations, domestic violence, and accountability in cases of sexual harassment in universities,with a particular focus on the Brazilian context.
Rafael Blanco is based at the University of Buenos Aires – Gino Germani Institute of Social Sciences. He is also a Senior Research Fellow at the National Scientific and Technical Research Council of Argentina (CONICET).
Listen to this episode — Transcript [PDF]
Panel 1: Solidarity & Activism
This panel features the following talks:
Navigating Legal/Extra-Legal Recourses against Sexual Harassment in Feminist Movements in India
Presented by: Atreyee Sengupta, SOAS University of London
“¡Estamos Hartas! We Are Fed Up”: Complaint as Feminist Worldmaking in the University
Presented by: Maya Ober, Institute of Social Anthropology and Cultural Studies, University of Bern
Transformative Learnings from the #MeTooSTS/#WeDoSTS Movement against Gender-Based Academic Violence
Presented by: Claudia Gertraud Schwarz, Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences
Chaired by: Tiffany Page
Listen to this episode — Transcript [PDF]
Panel 2: Survivor-Centred SGBV Policies & Practices 1
This panel features the following talks:
Between Silence and Denunciation: Harassment and Gender Violence in Public Universities
Presented by: Flávia Valério Lopes, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora (UFJF)
Gender Violence in the Academic Environment: A Comparative Study between Brazil and Chile
Presented by: Carolina dos Santos Bezerra, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora (UFJF)
An Intersectional Exploration of Gender and Sexual Violence Policies in British Universities
Presented by: Cassandra Jones, Northumbria University and Geetanjali Gangoli, Durham University.
Chaired by: Anna Bull
Listen to this episode — Transcript [PDF]
Panel 3: Survivor-Centred SGBV Policies & Practices 2
This panel features the following talks:
Exploring Sexual Violence Prevention Work with Academics: Possibilities and Challenges
Presented by: Suzanne Egan, Western Sydney University; Natasha Mikitas, Full Stop Australia; Selda Dagistanli, Western Sydney University
Epistemic and Affective Oppression of Survivor Testimony in Philippine Universities: Colonial Roots and Decolonial Possibilities
Presented by: Danna Aduna, Macquarie University
Creating Safe Spaces: Exploring the Effects of Gender-Based Violence on FLDM Female Students’ Academic Performance
Presented by: Ahmed Lehfid, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University; Ghali Lehfid, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University; Abdelaaziz El Bakkali, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University.
Perceptions of Help-Seeking for Sexual Violence and Harassment by Minoritised United Kingdom Higher Education Students
Presented by: Catherine Donovan, Durham University
Chaired by: Anna Bull
Listen to this episode — Transcript [PDF]
Panel 4: Decolonial Victim-Survivor-Centred Approaches to Addressing SGBV in HE 1
This panel features the following talks:
Non-Intimate Femicide and Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in Universities
Presented by: Suellen Iaskevitz, Universidade Estadual de Maringá; Josiane Silva de Oliveira, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso; Priscilla Borgonhoni Chagas, Universidade Estadual de Maringá
The Banalization of Sexual Harassment That Produces Silencing in the Brazilian Academic Context of Management
Presented by: Juliana Cristina Teixeira, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Brazil; Caroline Rodrigues Silva, Brunel University of London; Juliana Mesquita, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Brazil
Violence at Brazilian Universities: A Feminist Pedagogy Against Coloniality
Presented by: Beatriz Labadessa de Oliveira and Bruna Silva Oliveira, São Paulo State University.
Chaired by: Caroline Rodrigues Silva
Listen to this episode — Transcript [PDF]
Lightning talks
This panel features the following talks:
Surviving Institutional Mechanics: SGBV and Navigating University Complaints Processes
Presented by: Bruna Silva Oliveira, UNESP
Prohibit or Question? A Decolonial Approach to Consent and Sexual Harassment in Brazilian Universities
Presented by: Maria Eduarda de Souza, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina
Unmasking Patriarchy: Media Narratives of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in Nigerian Universities
Presented by: Ononuju Odiah
Culturally and Spiritually Grounded Healing for College Survivors of Sexual and Relationship Violence
Presented by: Grace Poon Ghaffari, San Jose State University; Karla Aguilar Marquez, University of California, Los Angeles; Nadeeka Karunaratne, California Institute of Integral Studies; University of Utah
Balances and Perspectives on the Institutional Approach to Gender Violence in Universities: The Case of the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina
Presented by: Julieta Astorino, Facultad de Ciencias Sociales, Universidad de Buenos AiresResources:
Chaired by: Erin Shannon
Listen to this episode — Transcript [PDF]
Poster presentations
This panel features the following talks:
Decolonising Campus Relations: Male Students’ Perceptions of Institutional Inaction on Sexual Harassment at Lead City University, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria
Presented by: Oyebanke Wura Oyelaja, University of Ibadan/Centre for Applied Ethics and Political Communication in Africa
Perceptions of Help-Seeking for Sexual Violence and Harassment by Minoritised United Kingdom Higher Education Students
Presented by: Laura Jane Machin, Manchester Metropolitan University
Indigenous and Quilombola Women Breaking Epistemicide at University
Presented by: Carolina dos Santos Bezerra and Maria José Franco Santana, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora (UFJF)
Chaired by: Erin Shannon
Listen to this episode — Transcript [PDF]
Book discussion: While I watch the new waves: What has changed, what has not, and what resists with the feminist uprising in Argentine universities by Dr Rafael Blanco
In this episode, the book: Mientras miro las nuevas olas. Qué cambió, qué no y qué se resiste con la irrupción feminista en las universidades argentinas (While I Watch the New Waves: What Has Changed, What Has Not, and What Resists with the Feminist Uprising in Argentine Universities) (CLACSO-IIGG Collection, 2025) was presented.
This book interrogates what has changed, what has remained the same, and what continues to resist transformation in the wake of the feminist “irruption” in Argentine universities. Although this irruption was not confined to higher education institutions, it has often been described metaphorically as a feminist “wave” or “tide” that introduced new debates, political agendas, promises, and — above all — significant shifts in public discourse and everyday institutional life. The book also examines strategies for addressing sexist violence and the (im)possibilities of redress; the emergence of sexual and (non)reproductive health counselling services within universities; the controversies and mobilisations surrounding the implementation of gender-neutral bathrooms; and debates on racism within university spaces prompted by Black, Afro, and brown feminisms.
Chaired by: Guadalope Lopez
Listen to this episode — Transcript [PDF]
Panel 6: Decolonial Victim-Survivor-Centred Approaches to Addressing SGBV in HE 2
This panel features the following talks:
Activism from Within: Toward a Subversive Managerial Praxis in Higher Education
Presented by: Caroline Rodrigues Silva, Brunel University of London
When is Research Localized? Eurocentrism in Research on Sexual(ized) Violence in Higher Education. Drawing on the Indonesian Context
Presented by: Lina Knorr, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Chaired by: Joel Cork
Listen to this episode — Transcript [PDF]
Q&A with Caitlin Babcock about crafting non-punitive responses to SGBV
As the Assistant Director of Sexual Misconduct at The College of New Jersey (TCNJ, USA), Caitlin Babcock assists in the intake and assessment of reports, coordinates support s/resources, and guides students & employees through available institutional processes. Her work centers on ensuring that individuals are informed of their rights, options, and resources while navigating experiences of sexual violence. A central focus of her role is providing trauma-informed support to those impacted by sexual violence and assisting them in identifying pathways to accountability and resolution that align with their needs and goals. As part of this conference, she will be discussing TCNJ’s alternative resolution process, which is grounded in restorative practices and emphasizes accountability, education, and healing.
Chaired by: Erin Shannon and Adrija Dey
Please note: due to scheduling conflicts, this conversation did not occur during the conference but afterwards, as an interview.
Listen to this episode — Transcript [PDF]
Panel 7: Abolitionist Responses to SGBV in HE
This panel features the following talks:
The (Im)possible Repair of Gender Violence at University: Tensions, Emotions and Resistance
Presented by: Rocío Moltoni, Centro de Investigaciones Feministas y Estudios de Género (CIFEG), Universidad Nacional de Rosario (UNR), Argentina
The Postsecondary Institution as State Violence: Complicity, Institutional Betrayal, and Resistance
Presented by: Maddie Brockbank, University of Windsor
Thinking Like an Abolitionist to End Sexual Violence in Higher Education
Presented by: Nadeeka Karunaratne, California Institute of Integral Studies & University of Utah; Niah S. Grimes, Morgan State University
Chaired by: Jennifer Fraser
Listen to this episode — Transcript [PDF]